Friedrich Bessel
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (; 22 July 1784 – 17 March 1846) was a German astronomer, mathematician, physicist, and geodesy, geodesist. He was the first astronomer who determined reliable values for the distance from the Sun to another star by th ...
who was the first to systematically study them in 1824, are canonical solutions of Bessel's differential equation
for an arbitrary
complex number
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the for ...
, which represents the ''order'' of the Bessel function. Although and produce the same differential equation, it is conventional to define different Bessel functions for these two values in such a way that the Bessel functions are mostly
smooth function
In mathematical analysis, the smoothness of a function is a property measured by the number of continuous derivatives (''differentiability class)'' it has over its domain.
A function of class C^k is a function of smoothness at least ; t ...
s of .
The most important cases are when is an
integer
An integer is the number zero (0), a positive natural number (1, 2, 3, ...), or the negation of a positive natural number (−1, −2, −3, ...). The negations or additive inverses of the positive natural numbers are referred to as negative in ...
or
half-integer
In mathematics, a half-integer is a number of the form
n + \tfrac,
where n is an integer. For example,
4\tfrac12,\quad 7/2,\quad -\tfrac,\quad 8.5
are all ''half-integers''. The name "half-integer" is perhaps misleading, as each integer n is its ...
. Bessel functions for integer are also known as cylinder functions or the cylindrical harmonics because they appear in the solution to
Laplace's equation
In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties in 1786. This is often written as
\nabla^2\! f = 0 or \Delta f = 0,
where \Delt ...
in
cylindrical coordinates
A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...
Helmholtz equation
In mathematics, the Helmholtz equation is the eigenvalue problem for the Laplace operator. It corresponds to the elliptic partial differential equation:
\nabla^2 f = -k^2 f,
where is the Laplace operator, is the eigenvalue, and is the (eigen)fun ...
in
spherical coordinates
In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system specifies a given point in three-dimensional space by using a distance and two angles as its three coordinates. These are
* the radial distance along the line connecting the point to a fixed point ...
.
Applications
Bessel's equation arises when finding separable solutions to
Laplace's equation
In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties in 1786. This is often written as
\nabla^2\! f = 0 or \Delta f = 0,
where \Delt ...
and the
Helmholtz equation
In mathematics, the Helmholtz equation is the eigenvalue problem for the Laplace operator. It corresponds to the elliptic partial differential equation:
\nabla^2 f = -k^2 f,
where is the Laplace operator, is the eigenvalue, and is the (eigen)fun ...
in cylindrical or
spherical coordinates
In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system specifies a given point in three-dimensional space by using a distance and two angles as its three coordinates. These are
* the radial distance along the line connecting the point to a fixed point ...
. Bessel functions are therefore especially important for many problems of
wave propagation
In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. '' Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (resting) value at some f ...
and static potentials. In solving problems in cylindrical coordinate systems, one obtains Bessel functions of integer order (); in spherical problems, one obtains half-integer orders (). For example:
*
Electromagnetic waves
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space. It encompasses a broad spectrum, classified by frequency or its inverse, wavelength, ran ...
in a cylindrical
waveguide
A waveguide is a structure that guides waves by restricting the transmission of energy to one direction. Common types of waveguides include acoustic waveguides which direct sound, optical waveguides which direct light, and radio-frequency w ...
* Pressure amplitudes of inviscid rotational flows
*
Heat conduction
Thermal conduction is the diffusion of thermal energy (heat) within one material or between materials in contact. The higher temperature object has molecules with more kinetic energy; collisions between molecules distributes this kinetic energy u ...
in a cylindrical object
* Modes of vibration of a thin circular or annular acoustic membrane (such as a
drumhead
A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum.
Additionally outside of percus ...
or other
membranophone
A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a acoustic membrane, vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument ...
Schrödinger equation
The Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a non-relativistic quantum-mechanical system. Its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of quantum mechanics. It is named after E ...
in spherical and cylindrical coordinates for a free particle
* Position space representation of the Feynman
propagator
In quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, the propagator is a function that specifies the probability amplitude for a particle to travel from one place to another in a given period of time, or to travel with a certain energy and momentum. I ...
in
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...
* Solving for patterns of acoustical radiation
* Frequency-dependent friction in circular pipelines
* Dynamics of floating bodies
*
Angular resolution
Angular resolution describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an Optical telescope, optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an Human eye, eye, to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major det ...
* Diffraction from helical objects, including
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
*
Probability density function
In probability theory, a probability density function (PDF), density function, or density of an absolutely continuous random variable, is a Function (mathematics), function whose value at any given sample (or point) in the sample space (the s ...
of product of two normally distributed random variables
* Analyzing of the surface waves generated by microtremors, in
geophysics
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...
and
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...
.
Bessel functions also appear in other problems, such as signal processing (e.g., see FM audio synthesis,
Kaiser window
The Kaiser window, also known as the Kaiser–Bessel window, was developed by James Kaiser at Bell Laboratories. It is a one-parameter family of window functions used in finite impulse response filter design and spectral estimation, spectral anal ...
Because this is a linear differential equation, solutions can be scaled to any amplitude. The amplitudes chosen for the functions originate from the early work in which the functions appeared as solutions to definite integrals rather than solutions to differential equations. Because the differential equation is second-order, there must be two
linearly independent
In the theory of vector spaces, a set of vectors is said to be if there exists no nontrivial linear combination of the vectors that equals the zero vector. If such a linear combination exists, then the vectors are said to be . These concep ...
solutions: one of the first kind and one of the second kind. Depending upon the circumstances, however, various formulations of these solutions are convenient. Different variations are summarized in the table below and described in the following sections.The subscript ''n'' is typically used in place of when is known to be an integer.
Bessel functions of the second kind and the spherical Bessel functions of the second kind are sometimes denoted by and , respectively, rather than and .
Bessel functions of the first kind: ''Jα''
Bessel functions of the first kind, denoted as , are solutions of Bessel's differential equation. For integer or positive , Bessel functions of the first kind are finite at the origin (); while for negative non-integer , Bessel functions of the first kind diverge as approaches zero. It is possible to define the function by times a
Maclaurin series
Maclaurin or MacLaurin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746), Scottish mathematician
* Normand MacLaurin (1835–1914), Australian politician and university administrator
* Henry Normand MacLaurin ...
(note that need not be an integer, and non-integer powers are not permitted in a Taylor series), which can be found by applying the Frobenius method to Bessel's equation:Abramowitz and Stegun p. 360, 9.1.10
where is the
gamma function
In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by Γ, capital Greek alphabet, Greek letter gamma) is the most common extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. Derived by Daniel Bernoulli, the gamma function \Gamma(z) is defined ...
, a shifted generalization of the
factorial
In mathematics, the factorial of a non-negative denoted is the Product (mathematics), product of all positive integers less than or equal The factorial also equals the product of n with the next smaller factorial:
\begin
n! &= n \times ...
function to non-integer values. Some earlier authors define the Bessel function of the first kind differently, essentially without the division by in ; this definition is not used in this article. The Bessel function of the first kind is an
entire function
In complex analysis, an entire function, also called an integral function, is a complex-valued function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane. Typical examples of entire functions are polynomials and the exponential function, and any ...
if is an integer, otherwise it is a
multivalued function
In mathematics, a multivalued function, multiple-valued function, many-valued function, or multifunction, is a function that has two or more values in its range for at least one point in its domain. It is a set-valued function with additional p ...
with singularity at zero. The graphs of Bessel functions look roughly like oscillating
sine
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side opposite th ...
or
cosine
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side opposite that ...
functions that decay proportionally to (see also their asymptotic forms below), although their roots are not generally periodic, except asymptotically for large . (The series indicates that is the derivative of , much like is the derivative of ; more generally, the derivative of can be expressed in terms of by the identities
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
* Bottom (disambiguation)
*Less than
*Temperatures below freezing
*Hell or underworld
People with the surname
* Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general
* Fred Belo ...
.)
For non-integer , the functions and are linearly independent, and are therefore the two solutions of the differential equation. On the other hand, for integer order , the following relationship is valid (the gamma function has simple poles at each of the non-positive integers):
This means that the two solutions are no longer linearly independent. In this case, the second linearly independent solution is then found to be the Bessel function of the second kind, as discussed below.
Bessel's integrals
Another definition of the Bessel function, for integer values of , is possible using an integral representation:
which is also called Hansen-Bessel formula.
This was the approach that Bessel used, and from this definition he derived several properties of the function. The definition may be extended to non-integer orders by one of Schläfli's integrals, for :
In terms of the Laguerre polynomials and arbitrarily chosen parameter , the Bessel function can be expressed as
Bessel functions of the second kind: ''Yα''
The Bessel functions of the second kind, denoted by , occasionally denoted instead by , are solutions of the Bessel differential equation that have a singularity at the origin () and are multivalued. These are sometimes called Weber functions, as they were introduced by , and also Neumann functions after
Carl Neumann
Carl Gottfried Neumann (also Karl; 7 May 1832 – 27 March 1925) was a German Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and professor at several German universities. His work focused on applications of potential theory to physics and mathemati ...
.
For non-integer , is related to by
In the case of integer order , the function is defined by taking the limit as a non-integer tends to :
If is a nonnegative integer, we have the series
where is the
digamma function
In mathematics, the digamma function is defined as the logarithmic derivative of the gamma function:
:\psi(z) = \frac\ln\Gamma(z) = \frac.
It is the first of the polygamma functions. This function is Monotonic function, strictly increasing a ...
, the
logarithmic derivative
In mathematics, specifically in calculus and complex analysis, the logarithmic derivative of a function is defined by the formula
\frac
where is the derivative of . Intuitively, this is the infinitesimal relative change in ; that is, the in ...
of the
gamma function
In mathematics, the gamma function (represented by Γ, capital Greek alphabet, Greek letter gamma) is the most common extension of the factorial function to complex numbers. Derived by Daniel Bernoulli, the gamma function \Gamma(z) is defined ...
.
There is also a corresponding integral formula (for ):Watson p. 178
In the case where : (with being Euler's constant)
is necessary as the second linearly independent solution of the Bessel's equation when is an integer. But has more meaning than that. It can be considered as a "natural" partner of . See also the subsection on Hankel functions below.
When is an integer, moreover, as was similarly the case for the functions of the first kind, the following relationship is valid:
Both and are
holomorphic function
In mathematics, a holomorphic function is a complex-valued function of one or more complex variables that is complex differentiable in a neighbourhood of each point in a domain in complex coordinate space . The existence of a complex de ...
s of on the
complex plane
In mathematics, the complex plane is the plane (geometry), plane formed by the complex numbers, with a Cartesian coordinate system such that the horizontal -axis, called the real axis, is formed by the real numbers, and the vertical -axis, call ...
cut along the negative real axis. When is an integer, the Bessel functions are
entire function
In complex analysis, an entire function, also called an integral function, is a complex-valued function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane. Typical examples of entire functions are polynomials and the exponential function, and any ...
s of . If is held fixed at a non-zero value, then the Bessel functions are entire functions of .
The Bessel functions of the second kind when is an integer is an example of the second kind of solution in Fuchs's theorem.
Hankel functions: ''H'', ''H''
Another important formulation of the two linearly independent solutions to Bessel's equation are the Hankel functions of the first and second kind, and , defined as
where is the
imaginary unit
The imaginary unit or unit imaginary number () is a mathematical constant that is a solution to the quadratic equation Although there is no real number with this property, can be used to extend the real numbers to what are called complex num ...
. These linear combinations are also known as Bessel functions of the third kind; they are two linearly independent solutions of Bessel's differential equation. They are named after
Hermann Hankel
Hermann Hankel (14 February 1839 – 29 August 1873) was a German mathematician. Having worked on mathematical analysis during his career, he is best known for introducing the Hankel transform and the Hankel matrix.
Biography
Hankel was born on ...
.
These forms of linear combination satisfy numerous simple-looking properties, like asymptotic formulae or integral representations. Here, "simple" means an appearance of a factor of the form . For real where , are real-valued, the Bessel functions of the first and second kind are the real and imaginary parts, respectively, of the first Hankel function and the real and negative imaginary parts of the second Hankel function. Thus, the above formulae are analogs of
Euler's formula
Euler's formula, named after Leonhard Euler, is a mathematical formula in complex analysis that establishes the fundamental relationship between the trigonometric functions and the complex exponential function. Euler's formula states that, for ...
, substituting , for and , for , , as explicitly shown in the
asymptotic expansion
In mathematics, an asymptotic expansion, asymptotic series or Poincaré expansion (after Henri Poincaré) is a formal series of functions which has the property that truncating the series after a finite number of terms provides an approximation ...
.
The Hankel functions are used to express outward- and inward-propagating cylindrical-wave solutions of the cylindrical wave equation, respectively (or vice versa, depending on the
sign convention
In physics, a sign convention is a choice of the physical significance of signs (plus or minus) for a set of quantities, in a case where the choice of sign is arbitrary. "Arbitrary" here means that the same physical system can be correctly descri ...
for the
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...
).
Using the previous relationships, they can be expressed as
If is an integer, the limit has to be calculated. The following relationships are valid, whether is an integer or not:
In particular, if with a nonnegative integer, the above relations imply directly that
These are useful in developing the spherical Bessel functions (see below).
The Hankel functions admit the following integral representations for :
where the integration limits indicate integration along a contour that can be chosen as follows: from to 0 along the negative real axis, from 0 to along the imaginary axis, and from to along a contour parallel to the real axis.
Modified Bessel functions: ''Iα'', ''Kα''
The Bessel functions are valid even for
complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
arguments , and an important special case is that of a purely imaginary argument. In this case, the solutions to the Bessel equation are called the modified Bessel functions (or occasionally the hyperbolic Bessel functions) of the first and second kind and are defined as
when is not an integer. When is an integer, then the limit is used. These are chosen to be real-valued for real and positive arguments . The series expansion for is thus similar to that for , but without the alternating factor.
can be expressed in terms of Hankel functions:
Using these two formulae the result to +, commonly known as Nicholson's integral or Nicholson's formula, can be obtained to give the following
given that the condition is met. It can also be shown that
only when and but not when .
We can express the first and second Bessel functions in terms of the modified Bessel functions (these are valid if ):
and are the two linearly independent solutions to the modified Bessel's equation:
Unlike the ordinary Bessel functions, which are oscillating as functions of a real argument, and are exponentially growing and decaying functions respectively. Like the ordinary Bessel function , the function goes to zero at for and is finite at for . Analogously, diverges at with the singularity being of logarithmic type for , and otherwise.
Two integral formulas for the modified Bessel functions are (for ):
Bessel functions can be described as Fourier transforms of powers of quadratic functions. For example (for ):
It can be proven by showing equality to the above integral definition for . This is done by integrating a closed curve in the first quadrant of the complex plane.
Modified Bessel functions of the second kind may be represented with Bassett's integral
Modified Bessel functions and can be represented in terms of rapidly convergent integrals
The modified Bessel function is useful to represent the Laplace distribution as an Exponential-scale mixture of normal distributions.
The modified Bessel function of the second kind has also been called by the following names (now rare):
* Basset function after
Alfred Barnard Basset
Alfred Barnard Basset FRS (25 July 1854 – 5 December 1930) was a British mathematician working on algebraic geometry, electrodynamics and hydrodynamics. In fluid dynamics, the Basset force—also known as the Boussinesq–Basset force—descr ...
* Modified Bessel function of the third kind
* Modified Hankel function
* Macdonald function after Hector Munro Macdonald
Spherical Bessel functions: ''jn'', ''yn''
When solving the
Helmholtz equation
In mathematics, the Helmholtz equation is the eigenvalue problem for the Laplace operator. It corresponds to the elliptic partial differential equation:
\nabla^2 f = -k^2 f,
where is the Laplace operator, is the eigenvalue, and is the (eigen)fun ...
in spherical coordinates by separation of variables, the radial equation has the form
The two linearly independent solutions to this equation are called the spherical Bessel functions and , and are related to the ordinary Bessel functions and by
is also denoted or ; some authors call these functions the spherical Neumann functions.
From the relations to the ordinary Bessel functions it is directly seen that:
The spherical Bessel functions can also be written as ()
The zeroth spherical Bessel function is also known as the (unnormalized) sinc function. The first few spherical Bessel functions are:
and
The first few non-zero roots of the first few spherical Bessel functions are:
Generating function
The spherical Bessel functions have the generating functions
Finite series expansions
In contrast to the whole integer Bessel functions , the spherical Bessel functions have a finite series expression:
Differential relations
In the following, is any of , , , for
Spherical Hankel functions: ''h'', ''h''
There are also spherical analogues of the Hankel functions:
There are simple closed-form expressions for the Bessel functions of
half-integer
In mathematics, a half-integer is a number of the form
n + \tfrac,
where n is an integer. For example,
4\tfrac12,\quad 7/2,\quad -\tfrac,\quad 8.5
are all ''half-integers''. The name "half-integer" is perhaps misleading, as each integer n is its ...
order in terms of the standard
trigonometric function
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular functions, angle functions or goniometric functions) are real functions which relate an angle of a right-angled triangle to ratios of two side lengths. They are widely used in all ...
s, and therefore for the spherical Bessel functions. In particular, for non-negative integers :
and is the complex-conjugate of this (for real ). It follows, for example, that and , and so on.
The spherical Hankel functions appear in problems involving spherical wave propagation, for example in the multipole expansion of the electromagnetic field.
Riccati–Bessel functions only slightly differ from spherical Bessel functions:
They satisfy the differential equation
For example, this kind of differential equation appears in
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
while solving the radial component of the
Schrödinger equation
The Schrödinger equation is a partial differential equation that governs the wave function of a non-relativistic quantum-mechanical system. Its discovery was a significant landmark in the development of quantum mechanics. It is named after E ...
with hypothetical cylindrical infinite potential barrier. This differential equation, and the Riccati–Bessel solutions, also arises in the problem of scattering of electromagnetic waves by a sphere, known as
Mie scattering
In electromagnetism, the Mie solution to Maxwell's equations (also known as the Lorenz–Mie solution, the Lorenz–Mie–Debye solution or Mie scattering) describes the scattering of an electromagnetic plane wave by a homogeneous sphere. The sol ...
after the first published solution by Mie (1908). See e.g., Du (2004) for recent developments and references.
Following Debye (1909), the notation , is sometimes used instead of , .
Asymptotic forms
The Bessel functions have the following
asymptotic
In analytic geometry, an asymptote () of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as one or both of the ''x'' or ''y'' coordinates Limit of a function#Limits at infinity, tends to infinity. In pro ...