Uniform convergent expansions of the Gauss hypergeometric function in terms of elementary functions

Abstract

We consider the hypergeometric function 2F1(a, b; c; z) for z ∈ C \ [1,∞). For Ra ≥ 0, we derive a convergent expansion of 2F1(a, b; c; z) in terms of the function (1 − z)−a and of rational functions of z that is uniformly valid for z in any compact in C \ [1,∞). When a ∈ N, the expansion also contains a logarithmic term of the form log(1 − z). For Ra ≤ 0, we derive a convergent expansion of (1 − z)a 2F1(a, b; c; z) in terms of the function (1 − z)−a and of rational functions of z that is uniformly valid for z in any compact in C \ [1,∞) in the exterior of the circle |z − 1| = r for arbitrary r > 0. The expansions are accompanied by realistic error bounds. Some numerical experiments show the accuracy of the approximation.