Matrix Gegenbauer polynomials: the \(2\times 2\) fundamental cases (Q272905)

The main object under consideration in the present paper is a sequence of \(2\times 2\) matrix valued polynomials \(\{P_j(p,n)\}_{j\geq 0}\) on \([-1,1]\) whose entries are given explicitly in terms of the Gegenbauer polynomials for real parameters \(0<p<n\). The authors show that these polynomials satisfy \(P_j D=\Lambda_j P_j\) with a certain hypergeometric differential operator \(D\) and a diagonal matrices \(\Lambda_j\). The operator \(D\) turns out to be symmetric with respect to some matrix weight \(W_{p,n}\), and the polynomials \(\{P_j(p,n)\}_{j\geq0}\) are orthogonal with respect to this weight. The authors find a three-term recurrence relation for this system of polynomials. It is natural to study the algebra \(D(W)\) of all differential operators that have as eigenfunctions a sequence of matrix valued polynomials orthogonal with respect to \(W\). In this case, this algebra appears to be noncommutative. The authors construct a basis \(\{D_1,D_2,D_3,D_4,I\}\) of the subspace of the differential operators in \(D(W)\) of order at most two.