Matrix-valued orthogonal polynomials related to (SU(2)×SU(2), diag)

Abstract

The matrix-valued spherical functions for the pair (K×K,K), K=SU(2), are studied. By restriction to the subgroup A, the matrix-valued spherical functions are diagonal. For suitable set of spherical functions, we take these diagonals as a matrix-valued function, which are the full spherical functions. Their orthogonality is a consequence of the Schur orthogonality relations. From the full spherical functions, we obtain matrix-valued orthogonal polynomials of arbitrary size, and they satisfy a three-term recurrence relation which follows by considering tensor product decompositions. An explicit expression for the weight and the complete block-diagonalization of the matrix-valued orthogonal polynomials is obtained. From the explicit expression, we obtain right-hand-sided differential operators of first and second order for which the matrix-valued orthogonal polynomials are eigenfunctions. We study the low-dimensional cases explicitly, and for these cases additional results, such as the Rodrigues' formula and being eigenfunctions to first-order differential-difference and second-order differential operators, are obtained. © 2012 The Author(s).