On Bessel function's orthogonality

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    Bessel Orthogonality
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the orthogonality of Bessel functions and its implications for evaluating two specific integrals involving Bessel functions of different orders and the same order. Participants explore the conditions under which these integrals may be zero or non-zero, referencing a textbook for relevant formulas and relations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how to apply the orthogonality relation of Bessel functions to the first integral, which involves Bessel functions of different orders.
  • Another participant asserts that the first integral is a positive number, suggesting that the integrand is positive over the interval from 0 to 1.
  • A subsequent reply agrees with the assertion about the first integral being positive and emphasizes the importance of the location of the zeros of the Bessel functions in making this determination.
  • Some participants express uncertainty about whether the integral can be argued to be non-zero without knowledge of the zeros of the functions involved.
  • Links to external resources are provided, but one participant finds them unhelpful in addressing the question at hand.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the first integral is positive due to the nature of the Bessel functions involved, but there is uncertainty regarding the implications of this positivity and how to rigorously argue the non-zero nature of the integrals without specific information about the zeros.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the dependence on the properties of Bessel functions, particularly their zeros, and the limitations of their arguments without this information.

samuelandjw
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Use the orthogonality relation of Bessel function to argue whether the following two integrals are zero or not:
\displaystyle\int_0^1J_1(x)xJ_2(x)dx
\displaystyle\int_0^1J_1(k_1x)J_1(k_2x)dx, where k_1,k_2 are two distinct zeros of Bessel function of order 1.

The textbook we are using is Boas's Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, so the formulas that are available to us are a set of recursion relations of Bessel function, and the orthogonality relations between Bessel function of the same order: http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/c/d/b/cdb1e8ba98f7855eba9777024cce03fd.png.

For the first integral, the two Bessel functions are of different order, and there is no zeros in the arguments of the two functions, so I have no idea how to link the first integral to the orthogonality relation of Bessel functions.

For the second integral, my argument is that since \displaystyle\int_0^1J_1(k_1x)xJ_1(k_2x)dx is zero, the 2nd integral (note that there is no x between the two Bessel function) cannot be zero. I think this argument is quite weak. Would anyone give me a better argument?

Thanks.
 
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The first one integral(positive function)=positive number
 
Last edited:
lurflurf said:
The first one integral(positive function)=positive number

Thanks for your reply. We can surely say that J_1(x),J_2(x) are positive functions between x=0 and x=1 because the first nontrivial zeros are larger than 1. One has to somehow use the information of the location of zeros to reach this conclusion. Suppose we don't have this information, is it still possible to argue that the integral is non-zero?
 

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