Clear and comprehensive, this text provides undergraduates with a straightforward guide to special functions. It is equally suitable as a reference volume for professionals, and readers need no higher level of mathematical knowledge beyond elementary calculus. Topics include the solution of second-order differential equations in terms of power series; gamma and beta functions; Legendre polynomials and functions; Bessel functions; Hermite, Laguerre, and Chebyshev polynomials; Gegenbauer and Jacobi polynomials; and hypergeometric and other special functions. Three appendices offer convenient tabulation of principal results, and a generous supply of worked examples and problems includes some hints and solutions. 25 figures.
