Bateman polynomials

In mathematics, the Bateman polynomials are a family F_n of orthogonal polynomials introduced by Harry Bateman (1933). The Bateman–Pasternack polynomials are a generalization introduced by Simon Pasternack (1939).

Bateman polynomials can be defined by the relation

${\displaystyle F_{n}\left({\frac {d}{dx}}\right)\operatorname {sech} (x)=\operatorname {sech} (x)P_{n}(\tanh(x)).}$

where P_n is a Legendre polynomial. In terms of generalized hypergeometric functions, they are given by

${\displaystyle F_{n}(x)={}_{3}F_{2}\left({\begin{array}{c}-n,~n+1,~{\tfrac {1}{2}}(x+1)\\1,~1\end{array}};1\right).}$

Pasternack (1939) generalized the Bateman polynomials to polynomials F^m
_n with

${\displaystyle F_{n}^{m}\left({\frac {d}{dx}}\right)\operatorname {sech} ^{m+1}(x)=\operatorname {sech} ^{m+1}(x)P_{n}(\tanh(x))}$

These generalized polynomials also have a representation in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions, namely

${\displaystyle F_{n}^{m}(x)={}_{3}F_{2}\left({\begin{array}{c}-n,~n+1,~{\tfrac {1}{2}}(x+m+1)\\1,~m+1\end{array}};1\right).}$

Carlitz (1957) showed that the polynomials Q_n studied by Touchard (1956) , see Touchard polynomials, are the same as Bateman polynomials up to a change of variable: more precisely

${\displaystyle Q_{n}(x)=(-1)^{n}2^{n}n!{\binom {2n}{n}}^{-1}F_{n}(2x+1)}$

Bateman and Pasternack's polynomials are special cases of the symmetric continuous Hahn polynomials.