Pólya operators. I: Total positivity (Q789583)

It is well known [cf. \textit{S. Karlin,} Total positivity. Vol. I (1968; Zbl 0219.47030) Chap. 10] that certain ordinary linear differential operators have a Green's kernel which is totally positive. In the present paper, a class of operators is investigated for which the Green's kernel and the solutions biorthonormal to the boundary conditions can be uniquely arranged into a joint kernel (the extended Green's kernel) which is totally positive. The boundary conditions for which this result holds true are derived from an incidence matrix satisfying Pólya's condition [\textit{I. J. Schoenberg,} J. Math. Anal. Appl. 16, 538-543 (1966; Zbl 0156.287)]. As an application it is proved that up to a normalization the Green's kernel is compact and that its limiting functions are two of the basic solutions of the Pólya operator.