Integrable operators and the squares of Hankel operators ✩

Integrable operators arise in random matrix theory, where they describe the asymptotic eigenvalue distribution of large selfadjoint random matrices from the generalized unitary ensembles. This paper gives sufficient conditions for an integrable operator to be the square of a Hankel operator, and applies the condition to the Airy, associated Laguerre, modified Bessel and Whittaker functions. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved