When the index is real, the functions , , , and each have an infinite number of real zeros, all of which are simple with the possible exception of . For nonnegative , the th positive zeros of these functions are denoted , , , and , respectively, except that is typically counted as the first zero of (Abramowitz and Stegun 1972, p. 370).
The first few roots of the Bessel function are given in the following table for small nonnegative integer values of and . They can be found in the Wolfram Language using the command BesselJZero[n, k].
1 | 2.4048 | 3.8317 | 5.1356 | 6.3802 | 7.5883 | 8.7715 |
2 | 5.5201 | 7.0156 | 8.4172 | 9.7610 | 11.0647 | 12.3386 |
3 | 8.6537 | 10.1735 | 11.6198 | 13.0152 | 14.3725 | 15.7002 |
4 | 11.7915 | 13.3237 | 14.7960 | 16.2235 | 17.6160 | 18.9801 |
5 | 14.9309 | 16.4706 | 17.9598 | 19.4094 | 20.8269 | 22.2178 |
The first few roots of the derivative of the Bessel function are given in the following table for small nonnegative integer values of and . Versions of the Wolfram Language prior to 6 implemented these zeros as BesselJPrimeZeros[n, k] in the BesselZeros package which is now available for separate download (Wolfram Research). Note that contrary to Abramowitz and Stegun (1972, p. 370), the Wolfram Language defines the first zero of to be approximately 3.8317 rather than zero.
1 | 3.8317 | 1.8412 | 3.0542 | 4.2012 | 5.3175 | 6.4156 |
2 | 7.0156 | 5.3314 | 6.7061 | 8.0152 | 9.2824 | 10.5199 |
3 | 10.1735 | 8.5363 | 9.9695 | 11.3459 | 12.6819 | 13.9872 |
4 | 13.3237 | 11.7060 | 13.1704 | 14.5858 | 15.9641 | 17.3128 |
5 | 16.4706 | 14.8636 | 16.3475 | 17.7887 | 19.1960 | 20.5755 |