Asymptotic zero behavior of Laguerre polynomials with negative parameter (Q706339)

The Laguerre polynomials \(L_n^{(\alpha_n)}(nz)\) are considered for large \(n\); the varying negative parameter \(\alpha_n\) is such that the limit \(A=\lim_n \alpha_n/n\) exists and belongs to \((0,1)\). For every \(A\in (0,1)\) a one-parameter family of possible limit sets of the zeros is described. Under a further condition the accumulation of the zeros along certain curves is described. The analysis is based on a Riemann-Hilbert formulation for the Laguerre polynomials with the steepest descent method of Deift and Zhou. Several pictures show the location of the zeros for different values of \(A\).