Generalized Jacobi operators in Krein spaces (Q953521)

For a positive Borel measure \(\mu\) with infinite support on \([a,b]\), one may define several objects such as the moment functional \(\mathfrak{S}\) via the moments \(s_k=\mathfrak{S}(\lambda^k)=\int_a^b t^kd\mu(t)\), \(k=0,1,2,\dots\), a moment generating function \(\hat{\mu}(\lambda)=\mathfrak{S}_t((t-\lambda)^{-1})=-s_0\lambda^{-1}-s_2\lambda^{-2}-\dots\), its continued fraction expansion (J-fraction), and its Padé approximants \(-Q_n/P_n\) of type \([n-1/n]\) at infinity. The numerators \(Q_n\) and denominators \(P_n\) satisfy a three-term recurrence relation (corresponding to the J-fraction) and the recurrence coefficients can be arranged in a tridiagonal Jacobi matrix. All this is well-known from the classical literature. This paper deals with all these issues when the functional is degenerate, i.e., the moment generating function need not be associated with a positive measure. This results in an indefinite inner product space: a Krein space. Since there may be singular blocks in the Padé table, the recurrence relation has the more general form \(u_{j+1}(\lambda)=p_j(\lambda)u_j(\lambda)+q_ju_{j-1}(\lambda)\), where \(p_j\) is a polynomial of higher degree, whereas it has degree one in the regular case. The corresponding continued fractions become P-fractions, and the generalized Jacobi matrix is a block tridiagonal matrix whose diagonal blocks are companion matrices for the polynomials \(p_j\). Assuming that the degree of the \(p_j\) and the coefficients in the recurrence relation are bounded, the spectrum of the generalized (periodic) Jacobi operator and the convergence of the Padé approximants is analyzed.