Hankel determinant approach to generalized Vorob'ev-Yablonski polynomials and their roots (Q730085)

The authors consider rational solutions of the generalized second Painlevé hierarchy, which may be expressed in terms of generalized Vorob'ev-Yablonski polynomials. They give new Hankel determinant representations for the squares of these polynomials. For the particular case of the standard second Painlevé hierarchy, the identities obtained are used to analyze the location of the roots of the corresponding (rescaled) polynomials. Note for the interested reader: the standard second Painlevé hierarchy is as considered in [\textit{M. J. Ablowitz} and \textit{H. Segur}, ``Exact linearization of a Painlevé transcendent'', Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, No. 20, 1103--1106 (1977; \url{doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.38.1103}); \textit{H. Airault}, Stud. Appl. Math. 61, 31--53 (1979; Zbl 0496.58012)] and [\textit{N. A. Kudryashov}, ``The first and second Painlevé equations of higher order and some relations between them'', Phys. Lett. A 224, No. 6, 353--360 (1997; \url{doi:10.1016/S0375-9601(96)00795-5})]; the generalized second Painlevé hierarchy, in which terms coming from lower-order mKdV flows are also included, is as considered in [\textit{H. Flaschka} and \textit{A. C. Newell}, Commun. Math. Phys. 76, 65--116 (1980; Zbl 0439.34005)] and [the reviewer, Phys. Lett., A 301, No. 3--4, 275--280 (2002; Zbl 0997.34084)].