From Gauss to Painleve

Preface The Gamma function, the zeta function, the theta function, the hyper­ geometric function, the Bessel function, the Hermite function and the Airy function, . . . are instances of what one calls special functions. These have been studied in great detail. Each of them is brought to light at the right epoch according to both mathematicians and physicists. Note that except for the first three, ...