On the WKB-theoretic structure of a Schrödinger operator with a merging pair of a simple pole and a simple turning point (Q974788)

Semiclassical analysis establishes the link between classical dynamics and the behavior as \(h\to 0\) of solutions of the Schrödinger equation \[ ih\partial_t \psi = - h^2 \Delta \psi + Q\psi, \] where \(h\) plays the role of Planck's constant. In the present article, the authors perform an exact Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) analysis of the equation \[ \frac{d^2 \psi}{d x^2} - \eta^2Q(x, \eta) \psi = 0, \] where \(\eta\) is a large parameter (the reciprocal of \(h\)) and \(Q\) has a simple turning point and a simple pole, merging as \(\eta\to \infty\). This is done by converting the equation to a canonical (\(\infty\)-Whittaker) equation with \[ Q = \frac{1}{4} +\frac{\alpha}{x} +\eta^{-2}\frac{\gamma}{x^2}, \] the study of which has been announced in [\textit{T. Koike} and \textit{Y. Takei} On the Voros coefficient for the Whittaker equation with a large parameter: Some progress around Sato's conjecture in exact WKB analysis, preprint (2010)].