0. The results are consequences of a strengthened form of the following assertion: Given 0 > 1. Auxiliary results include inequalities for weighted polynomials, and zeros of extremal polynomials. The monograph is fairly self-contained, with proofs involving elementary complex analysis, and the theory of orthogonal and extremal polynomials. It should be of interest to research workers in approximation theory and orthogonal polynomials.

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in the theory of orthogonal polynomials. The number of books treating the subject, however, is limited. This monograph brings together some results involving the asymptotic behaviour of orthogonal polynomials when the degree tends to infinity, assuming only a basic knowledge of real and complex analysis. An extensive treatment, starting with special knowledge of the orthogonality measure, is given for orthogonal polynomials on a compact set and on an unbounded set. Another possible approach is to start from properties of the coefficients in the three-term recurrence relation for orthogonal polynomials. This is done using the methods of (discrete) scattering theory. A new method, based on limit theorems in probability theory, to obtain asymptotic formulas for some polynomials is also given. Various consequences of all the results are described and applications are given ranging from random matrices and birth-death processes to discrete Schrödinger operators, illustrating the close interaction with different branches of applied mathematics.

An encyclopedic presentation of general orthogonal polynomials, placing emphasis on asymptotic behaviour and zero distribution.

0. The results are consequences of a strengthened form of the following assertion: Given 0 p, f Lp ( ) and a certain sequence of positive numbers associated with Q(x), there exist polynomials Pn of degree at most n, n = 1,2,3..., such that if and only if f(x) = 0 for a.e.

This book describes the theory and applications of discrete orthogonal polynomials--polynomials that are orthogonal on a finite set. Unlike other books, Discrete Orthogonal Polynomials addresses completely general weight functions and presents a new methodology for handling the discrete weights case. J. Baik, T. Kriecherbauer, K. T.-R. McLaughlin & P. D. Miller focus on asymptotic aspects of general, nonclassical discrete orthogonal polynomials and set out applications of current interest. Topics covered include the probability theory of discrete orthogonal polynomial ensembles and the continuum limit of the Toda lattice. The primary concern throughout is the asymptotic behavior of discrete orthogonal polynomials for general, nonclassical measures, in the joint limit where the degree increases as some fraction of the total number of points of collocation. The book formulates the orthogonality conditions defining these polynomials as a kind of Riemann-Hilbert problem and then generalizes the steepest descent method for such a problem to carry out the necessary asymptotic analysis.