Orthogonal Polynomial Solutions of Spectral Type Differential Equations: Magnusʹ Conjecture Original Research Article

Let τ=σ+ν be a point mass perturbation of a classical moment functional σ by a distribution ν with finite support. We find necessary conditions for the polynomials {Qn(x)}∞n=0, orthogonal relative to τ, to be a Bochner–Krall orthogonal polynomial system (BKOPS); that is, {Qn(x)}∞n=0 are eigenfunctions of a finite order linear differential operator of spectral type with polynomial coefficients: LN[y](x)=∑Ni=1 ℓi(x) y(i)(x)=λny(x). In particular, when ν is of order 0 as a distribution, we find necessary and sufficient conditions for {Qn(x)}∞n=0 to be a BKOPS, which strongly support and clarify Magnusʹ conjecture which states that any BKOPS must be orthogonal relative to a classical moment functional plus one or two point masses at the end point(s) of the interval of orthogonality. This result explains not only why the Bessel-type orthogonal polynomials (found by Hendriksen) cannot be a BKOPS but also explains the phenomena for infinite-order differential equations (found by J. Koekoek and R. Koekoek), which have the generalized Jacobi polynomials and the generalized Laguerre polynomials as eigenfunctions.