Nickolas Andersen 2026-11-05
Nickolas Andersen studies analytic number theory, modular forms and L-functions. With Jeffrey C. Lagarias and Robert C. Rhoades, he studied shifted polyharmonic Maass forms, which replace an eigenfunction equation by
Here is a weight-dependent hyperbolic Laplacian; the functions also obey arithmetic symmetry and controlled growth. The study proves finite dimensionality and describes the role of Eisenstein series and their parameter derivatives. [ref][ref]
The mechanism is visible by differentiating a family of eigenfunctions. If and is independent of , then
At a fixed parameter value, applying again gives zero. A derivative can therefore yield a generalized solution of depth two instead of another ordinary eigenfunction. The arithmetic symmetry and growth requirements still need checking; the operator identity explains the construction's motivation.
Figure 1.
Nickolas Andersen
. Portrait identified on the Brigham Young University Mathematics profile.
By Jeffrey C. Lagarias and Robert C. Rhoades. Ramanujan Journal 41, 191–232 (2016), DOI doi.org/10.1007/s11139-015-9729-1 . The preprint was submitted in 2015.
Verified locators: preprint pages 1–2, equations (1.1)–(1.2), modularity, growth condition and iterated Laplacian; pages 3–4, Theorem 1.1 and construction of a Taylor basis from Eisenstein series.
Robert C. Rhoades 2026-11-05
Robert C. Rhoades coauthored work extending the study of Maass forms beyond a single eigenfunction equation. With Jeffrey C. Lagarias, he studied polyharmonic Maass forms: functions with the required arithmetic symmetry and growth conditions that are annihilated by a power of a weight-dependent hyperbolic Laplacian, . Their paper constructs bases using derivatives of Eisenstein series with respect to a parameter.[ref]
An elementary analogy explains why taking a power changes the problem. For the derivative operator , the function satisfies but . Thus requiring two applications to give zero allows more functions than requiring one. The arithmetic setting adds essential symmetry and growth restrictions; the analogy alone does not produce a Maass form. The paper shows how these restrictions lead to explicit finite-dimensional spaces, rather than the unrestricted solution sets of a differential equation.[ref]