Computation of the eigenvalues for the angular and Coulomb spheroidal wave equation

Abstract: In this paper we study the eigenvalues of the angular spheroidal wave equation and its generalization, the Coulomb spheroidal wave equation. An associated differential system and a formula for the connection coefficients between the various Floquet solutions give rise to an entire function whose zeros are exactly the eigenvalues of the Coulomb spheroidal wave equation. This entire function can be calculated by means of a recurrence formula with arbitrary accuracy and low computational cost. Finally, one obtains an easy-to-use method for computing spheroidal eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions.