Spheroidal wave equation

In mathematics, the spheroidal wave equation is given by

$(1-t^{2}){\frac {d^{2}y}{dt^{2}}}-2(b+1)t\,{\frac {dy}{dt}}+(c-4qt^{2})\,y=0$

It is a generalization of the Mathieu differential equation. If $y(t)$ is a solution to this equation and we define $S(t):=(1-t^{2})^{b/2}y(t)$, then $S(t)$ is a prolate spheroidal wave function in the sense that it satisfies the equation

$(1-t^{2}){\frac {d^{2}S}{dt^{2}}}-2t\,{\frac {dS}{dt}}+(c-4q+b+b^{2}+4q(1-t^{2})-{\frac {b^{2}}{1-t^{2}}})\,S=0$

See also

• Wave equation

References

Bibliography

• M. Abramowitz and I. Stegun, Handbook of Mathematical function (US Gov. Printing Office, Washington DC, 1964)
• H. Bateman, Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics (Dover Publications, New York, 1944)