No label defined (Q4788946)

In this useful expository article aimed for applied research audience, the authors show how certain special functions, such as the Mittag-Leffler function \(E_{\alpha,\beta}(z)\) and the Wright function \(W_{\lambda, \mu}(z)\), arise naturally in fractional calculus and outline their role in the study of fractional evolution processes (i.e., phenomena governed by an integro-differential equation containing fractional integrals or derivatives in time). The authors first remind basics of fractional calculus, then they summarize and discuss the main properties of the Mittag-Leffler and Wright functions, after which they demonstrate the significance of these functions in the study of fractional relaxation and fractional oscillation (mathematically, some linear fractional differential equation), with the emphasis on algebraic decay of solutions in time. Finally, the authors deal with the Cauchy problem for the time-fractional diffusion equation. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0995.00011].