Generalised Error Functions from the Kerr Metric

Motivated by the effort to understand the mathematical structure underlying the Teukolsky equations in a Kerr metric background, a homogeneous integral equation related to the prolate spheroidal function is studied. From the consideration of the Fredholm determinant of the integral equation, a family of generalized error function is defined, with which the Fredholm determinant of the sinc kernel is also evaluated. An analytic solution of a special case of the fifth Painleve transcendent is then worked out explicitly.