The multiple T-value, which is a variant of the multiple zeta value of level two, was introduced by Kaneko and Tsumura [‘Zeta functions connecting multiple zeta values and poly-Bernoulli numbers’, in: Various Aspects of Multiple Zeta Functions, Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics, 84 (Mathematical Society of Japan, Tokyo, 2020), 181–204]. We show that the generating function of a weighted sum of multiple T-values of fixed weight and depth is given in terms of the multiple T-values of depth one by solving a differential equation of Heun type.

We give a new hypergeometric construction of rational approximations to ζ(4), which absorbs the earlier one from 2003 based on Bailey's 9F8 hypergeometric integrals. With the novel ingredients we are able to gain better control of the arithmetic and produce a record irrationality measure for ζ(4).

We prove the Gross–Deligne conjecture on CM periods for motives associated with ${{H}^{2}}$ of certain surfaces fibered over the projective line. Then we prove for the same motives a formula which expresses the ${{K}_{1}}$-regulators in terms of hypergeometric functions $_{3}{{F}_{2}}$, and obtain a new example of non-trivial regulators.

In this paper we discuss the Mabinogion urn model introduced by Williams (1991). Therein he describes an optimal control problem where the objective is to maximize the expected final number of objects of one kind in the Mabinogion urn model. Our main contribution is formulae for the expected time to absorption and its asymptotic behaviour in the optimally controlled process. We also present results for the noncontrolled Mabinogion urn process and briefly analyze other strategies that become superior if a certain discount factor is included.

In this paper, we present closed-type formulas for some multivariate compound distributions with multivariate Sarmanov counting distribution and independent Erlang distributed claim sizes. Further on, we also consider a type-II Pareto dependency between the claim sizes of a certain type. The resulting densities rely on the special hypergeometric function, which has the advantage of being implemented in the usual software. We numerically illustrate the applicability and efficiency of such formulas by evaluating a bivariate cumulative distribution function, which is also compared with the similar function obtained by the classical recursion-discretization approach.

We provide a comprehensive study of the function $h=h(q)$ defined by

$$\begin{eqnarray}h=q\mathop{\prod }_{j=1}^{\infty }\frac{(1-q^{12j-1})(1-q^{12j-11})}{(1-q^{12j-5})(1-q^{12j-7})}\end{eqnarray}$$

$k=k(q)$

$$\begin{eqnarray}k=q\mathop{\prod }_{j=1}^{\infty }\frac{(1-q^{10j-1})(1-q^{10j-2})(1-q^{10j-8})(1-q^{10j-9})}{(1-q^{10j-3})(1-q^{10j-4})(1-q^{10j-6})(1-q^{10j-7})}.\end{eqnarray}$$

In this paper we consider a class of quasi-birth-and-death processes for which explicit solutions can be obtained for the rate matrix R and the associated matrix G. The probabilistic interpretations of these matrices allow us to describe their elements in terms of paths on the two-dimensional lattice. Then determining explicit expressions for the matrices becomes equivalent to solving a lattice path counting problem, the solution of which is derived using path decomposition, Bernoulli excursions, and hypergeometric functions. A few applications are provided, including classical models for which we obtain some new results.

The asymptotic behaviour of a certain integral is investigated. The investigation involves a hypergeometric function of a type for which the asymptotics have not previously been considered.

We study identities for the distribution of the number of edges at time t back (i.e. measured backwards) in a coalescent tree whose subtrees have no mutations. This distribution is important in the infinitely-many-alleles model of mutation, where every mutation is unique. The model includes, as a special case, the number of edges in a coalescent tree at time t back when mutation is ignored. The identities take the form of expected values of functions of Zt=eiXt, where Xt is distributed as standard Brownian motion. Associated identities are also found for the distributions of the time to the most recent common ancestor, the time until loss of ancestral lines by coalescence or mutation, and the age of a mutation. Hypergeometric functions play an important role in the identities. The identities are of mathematical interest, as well as potentially being formulae to use for numerical integration or simulation to compute distributions that are usually expressed as alternating-sign series expansions, which are difficult to compute.

In this paper we study a planar random motion (X(t), Y(t)), t>0, with orthogonal directions taken cyclically at Poisson paced times. The process is split into one-dimensional motions with alternating displacements interrupted by exponentially distributed stops. The distributions of X = X(t) (conditional and nonconditional) are obtained by means of order statistics and the connection with the telegrapher's process is derived and discussed. We are able to prove that the distributions involved in our analysis are solutions of a certain differential system and of the related fourth-order hyperbolic equation.

We present some basic identities for hypergeometric functions associated with the integrals of Euler type. We give a geometrical proof for formulae such as the identity between the single and double integrals expressing Appell's hypergeometric series $F_1 (a, b, b^{\prime} c; x, y)$.