 Gamma And Beta Function And Its Various

Applications

The gamma functions is given by the integral:

∞
Γ(𝑥) = ∫ 𝑥 𝑧−1 ℮−𝑥 𝑑𝑥
0

The beta function is given by:

1
𝛽 (𝑥, 𝑦) = ∫ 𝑡 𝑥 (1 − 𝑡)𝑦−1 𝑑𝑡
0

The beta function and the gamma function have the following relationship:
Γ(𝑥)Γ(𝑦)
𝛽(𝑥, 𝑦) =
Γ(𝑥 + 𝑦)
Below is an exposition of applications of the beta and gamma functions in
physics and in science:
 String theory and Beta function: In 1968, a researcher, Gabriele
Veneziano at CERN (an European particle accelerator lab) observed
that beta function describes many properties of strong nuclear force.
Beta distribution where beta function is used to determine average
time of completing selected tasks in time management problems.In
probability theory, beta function is used in preferential attachment
process.Gamma function is used in gamma distribution which is used
to determine time-based occurrences, such as life span of an
electronic component etc.
 Packing problem and Gamma function: Which fits better – “the n-ball
in the n-cube or the n-cube in the n-ball”.
 Conduction in the semi-infinite solid (diffusion)
 In physics and in string theory, the beta function and the related
gamma function is used to calculate and reproduce the scattering
amplitude in terms of the Reggie trajectories.
 The gamma function is used in relation to renormalization techniques
involving Feynman diagrams and loop integrals.
  In classical statistical mechanics, and in relation to Maxwell-Boltzmann
statistics and to the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, the gamma
function is used to compute the expression of the average kinetic
energy per molecule for a classical gas at a temperature T.
 Moreover, in a Maxwell-type distribution with particles of mass m and
speed v, the expectation or average value of vn can be expressed as:
𝑛
𝑛+3 2𝑘𝑇
Γ( )( )2
𝜐 𝑛 = 2
3
𝑚
Γ( )
2

 The Gamma Function is helpful and useful in beta decay theory

calculations.
 In statistics Gamma function can be used to model various processes.
Chi squared distribution and exponential distributions are just special
cases of Gamma distribution.
 The probability density function can be defined in terms of Gamma
function which is used to determine time based occurrences, such as:
 life length of an electronic component
 remaining life of a component
 waiting time between any two consecutive events
 waiting time to see the next event

 Quantum electrodynamics
The one-loop beta function in quantum electrodynamics (QED) is:

Written in terms of the fine structure constant in natural units, α =e2/4π.This

beta function tells us that the coupling increases with increasing energy
scale, and QED becomes strongly coupled at high energy. In fact, the
coupling apparently becomes infinite at some finite energy, resulting in a
Landau pole. However, one cannot expect the perturbative beta function to
give accurate results at strong coupling, and so it is likely that the Landau
pole is an artifact of applying perturbation theory in a situation where it is
no longer valid.
  Quantum chromodynamics;
The one-loop beta function in quantum chromodynamics with flavors
and scalar colored bosons is

Written in terms of αs =
If nf ≤ 16, the ensuing beta function dictates that the coupling decreases
with increasing energy scale, a phenomenon known as asymptotic freedom.
Conversely, the coupling increases with decreasing energy scale. This means
that the coupling becomes large at low energies, and one can no longer rely
on perturbation theory.

 The Hermite function & Polynomials

The Hermite polynomials have their main application in Quantum
Mechanical Harmonic Oscillator and many other problems of Quantum
Mechanics.

The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

Hermite's Differential Equation is defined as:
y-2xy+2nxy=0
Where n is a real number.

For n is a non-negative integer, i.e., n=0,1,2,3,…. the solutions of

Hermite's Differential Equation are often referred to as Hermite

Polynomials .

Rodrigues' Formula:

where n=0,1,2,3,……

First Four Harmonic Oscillator Normalized Wavefunction are given as

 1
 4 −𝑦2
Ψο = ( ) ℮ 2

1
 4 −𝑦 2
Ψ1 = ( ) √2 y℮ 2

1
 4 1 2
−𝑦 2
Ψ = ( ) (2𝑦 − 1)℮ 2
 √2
1
 4 1 3
−𝑦 2
Ψ3 = ( ) (2𝑦 − 3𝑦)℮ 2
 √3
𝑚𝜔
𝛼= , 𝑦 = √𝛼𝑥
ℏ

When the Schrodinger equation for the harmonic oscillator is solved by a

series method, the solutions contain this set of polynomials, named the
Hermite polynomials

The wavefunctions for the quantum harmonic oscillator contain the Gaussian
form which allows them to satisfy the necessary boundary conditions at
infinity. In the wavefunction associated with a given value of the quantum
number n, the Gaussian is multiplied by a polynomial of order n (the Hermite
polynomials above) and the constants necessary to normalize the
wavefunctions.
The polynomials arise in:
 Probability
  In combinatorics, as an example of an Appell sequence, obeying the
umbral calculus
 In numerical analysis as Gaussian quadrature
 In physics, where they give rise to the eigenstates of the quantum
harmonic oscillator
 In systems theory in connection with nonlinear operations on Gaussian
Noise

 Associated Legendre Functions

The Colatitude Equation
Upon separation of the Schrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom, we get
the colatitude equation which is given as:

The solutions to the colatitude equation are in a form called associated

Legendre functions, and when properly normalized form part of the
hydrogen wavefunctions.

Legendre polynomial & expansion of electromagnetic

potential
Legendre polynomials are introduced as solution of legendre’s equation,
which very often arises when a problem possesses spherical symmetry. Such
problem can occur in Quantum Mechanics, Electromagnetic Theory,
Hydrodynamics and Heat conduction.
Legendre polynomials can also be used for expansion of Electromagnetic
potential.
Consider a charge q located at position R from the origin. We want to
compute the potential at some other position r. Let the polar angle  be
the angle between r and R then following equation is used to evaluate
electromagnetic potential in terms of Legendre polynomials
 
𝑞 𝑟𝑛
Φ(𝑟, 𝜃) = ∑ 𝑛+1 𝑃n(cos 𝜃)
4𝜋𝜖o 𝑅
𝑛=0
 Legendre and Associate Legendre polynomials are widely used in
determination of wave functions of electrons in the orbits of an atom
and in the determination of potential functions in the spherical
symmetric geometry etc. Also nuclear reactor physics,Legendre
polynomials have an extraordinary importance.
 Bessel Function
Bessel function occur in a very wide range of applications, such as
loudspeaker design, optical diffraction, the vibration of circular
memberanes and plates, the scattering of sound by circular sylinders, and
in general in many problems in both classical and quantum physics
involving circular or cylindrical boundaries of some kind. The spherical
bessel functions are of prime importance in Quantum Mechanical
Scattering Theoty.

1. Spherical Potential Well

The idealized infinite-walled one-dimensional and three-dimensional square-
well potentials can be solved by the Schrodinger equation to give quantized
energy levels. For the case of a nucleus, a useful idealization is an infinite-
walled spherical potential. That is, we model the nucleus with a potential
which is zero inside the nuclear radius and infinite outside that radius.
In spherical polar coordinates, the Shrodinger equation is separable in the
general form Y(r,𝜃,𝜙) = R(r)Θ(𝜃)Φ(𝜙), as it is in the case of the hydrogen atom
solution. In this case with zero potential, the separation of the azimuthal (𝜙)
and colatitude (𝜃) equations requires

The solutions for Θ and Φ, when normalized, give a standard set of functions
called spherical harmonics.
The radial equation is

and the solution of this equation can be expressed in terms of another set of
functions called spherical Bessel functions.

2. Circular Membrane

The vibrational modes of a circular membrane are very important musically

because of drums, and in particular the timpani. The expression for the
fundamental frequency of a circular membrane has some similarity to that
for a stretched string, in that it depends on tension and density.
The nature of vibrational modes in membranes is calculated from the wave
equation in two dimensions.
The resulting equation is solved by Bessel function.

 Delta Dirac Function

 In probability theory and statistics, the Dirac delta function is often
used to represent a discrete distribution, or a partially discrete,
partially continuous distribution, using a probability density
function which is normally used to represent fully continuous
distributions.
 The delta function also has many more specialized applications in
quantum mechanics, such as the delta potential models for a single
and double potential well.
 The delta function can be used in structural mechanics to describe
transient loads or point loads acting on structures.
 Laguerre Function
In mathematics, the Laguerre polynomials, named after Edmond
Laguerre (1834 - 1886), are solutions of Laguerre's equation:
xy+(1-x)y+ny=0
which is a second-order linear differential equation. This equation has
nonsingular solutions only if n is a non-negative integer.
The Rodrigues formula for the Laguerre polynomials is:

The Laguerre polynomials are used for Gaussian quadrature to numerically

compute integrals of the form
∞
∫ 𝑓(𝑥)𝑒 −𝑥 𝑑𝑥
0
The Laguerre polynomials arise in quantum mechanics, in the radial part of
the solution of the Schrödinger equation for a one-electron atom. Laguerre
polynomials are most useful in Quantum Mechanical study of Hydrogen
atom. Moreover they have application in transmission line theory.