Spectral representation of some weighted Hankel matrices and orthogonal polynomials from the Askey scheme

Abstract We provide an explicit spectral representation for several weighted Hankel matrices by means of the so called commutator method. These weighted Hankel matrices are found in the commutant of Jacobi matrices associated with orthogonal polynomials from the Askey scheme whose Jacobi parameters are polynomial functions of the index. We also present two more results of general interest. First, we give a complete description of the commutant of a Jacobi matrix. Second, we deduce a necessary and sufficient condition for a weighted Hankel matrix commuting with a Jacobi matrix to determine a unique self-adjoint operator on l 2 ( N 0 ) .