In mathematics, Jacobi polynomials (occasionally called hypergeometric polynomials) P n ( α , β ) ( x ) {\displaystyle P_{n}^{(\alpha ,\beta )}(x)} are a class of classical orthogonal polynomials. They are orthogonal with respect to the weight ( 1 − x ) α ( 1 + x ) β {\displaystyle (1-x)^{\alpha }(1+x)^{\beta }} on the interval [ − 1 , 1 ] {\displaystyle [-1,1]} . The Gegenbauer polynomials, and thus also the Legendre, Zernike and Chebyshev polynomials, are special cases of the Jacobi polynomials.
The Jacobi polynomials were introduced by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi.