## MAT 415 Special Functions

• ### Textbook

• There is no particular textbook for the course. Some useful references listed below.

• ### Topics

• We study some important differential equations that arise in physics and special functions as their solutions. We also discuss some physical applications of special functions. Those special functions include Bessel functions, Legendre functions, Hermite functions, Laguerre functions, Chebyshev polynomials, hypergeometric functions.

• ### Prerequisites

• MAT 280 Multivariable Calculus, MAT 285 Introduction to Differential Equations, MAT 326 Linear Algebra (preferred)
• ### Class Meeting Times and Class Room

• Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:15pm in SH 309

• ### Office Hours

• By appointment.

• No tests. The final grade for the course is based on cummutative grades from homework assignments and in-class presentations.

• ### Lecture Notes

• Click on linked topics below to view lecture notes.

• ### Math Forum

• If you have a question on your homework or a general math question, you may post it on my Math Forum site. This forum site is equipped with MathJax which supports LaTex, a wonderful type setting system that is really good at formatting mathematical formulas and equations. MathJax allows us to write mathematical formulas and equations in popular web platforms using LaTex code.To include LaTex code in your posts and comments, use:

$your-LaTex-code-here$

You can find a list of Latex codes for math symbols here. You may practice your Latexing here.

If you want to try Latex in your Windows computer, you may download it for free from MikTex Project Page. If you are using a Linux distribution, usually Latex is a part of the standard packages repository. (The package is called texlive.) To use Latex, you need an editor. Texmaker is a nice interface for using Latex. You can edit/compile/view all together in Texmaker. If you don't want to deal with commands, there is a WYSWYG (What You See is What You Get) interface for Latex called Lyx.