Quadratic Hermite-Padé approximation to the exponential function (Q579558)

The subject of this paper is the study of what is nowadays known as the system of Latin polynomials for the functions 1, \(e^{-x}\), \(e^{-2x}\) [\textit{K. Mahler}, Compositio Math. 19, 95-166 (1986)]. Explicit forms for the polynomials \(p_ m\), \(q_ m\), \(r_ m\) of degree m and the remainders \(E_ m\) satisfying \[ E_ m(x):=p_ m(x)e^{-2x}+q_ m(x)e^{-x}+r_ m(x)=O(x^{3(m+1)-1}) \] were known before [\textit{H. Jager}, Indag. Math. 26, 192-249 (1964; Zbl 0127.278)] but not in such a nice form as in the paper under review. Equating the O-term to zero and solving the quadratic equation the natural generalisation of the main diagonal approximant to \(e^{-x}\) is found: the so-called quadratic approximant [\textit{R. E. Shafer}, SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 111, 447-460 (1974; Zbl 0253.65006)]. The author gives explicit expressions and asymptotics as \(m\to \infty\) for \(p_ m\), \(q_ m\) \(r_ m\) and \(E_ m\). Moreover simple differential equations and a four-term recurrence relation for the polynomials is given. Finally it is proved [using the center shifting trick due to \textit{D. Braess}, J. Approximation Theory 40, 375-379 (1984; Zbl 0544.41017)] that the polynomials lead to an asymptotically exact solution, in the form \(E_ m(z+1/(3m+2))\), of the problem of minimising expressions of the form of \(E_ m\) with arbitrary polynomial coefficients of degrees \(\leq m\) in the sup-norm on the unit disk. An interesting paper.