Rayleigh functions σ l (ν) are defined as series in inverse powers of the Bessel function zeros λ ν,n = 0, σ l (ν) = ∞ n=1 1 λ 2l ν, n , where l = 1, 2, . . . ; ν is the index of the Bessel function J ν (x) and n = 1, 2, . . . is the number of the zeros. Convolutions of Rayleigh functions with respect to the Bessel index, R l (m) = ∞ k=−∞ σ l |m − k| σ l |k| for l = 1, 2, . . . ; m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . . , are needed for constructing global-in-time solutions of semi-linear evolution equations in circular domains [V. Varlamov, On the spatially two-dimensional Boussinesq equation in a circular domain, Nonlinear Anal. 46 (2001) 699-725; V. Varlamov, Convolution of Rayleigh functions with respect to the Bessel index, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 306 (2005) 413-424]. The study of this new family of special functions was initiated in [V. Varlamov, Convolution of Rayleigh functions with respect to the Bessel index, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 306 (2005) 413-424], where the properties of R 1 (m) were investigated.In the present work a general representation of R l (m) in terms of σ l (ν) is deduced. On the basis of this a representation for the function R 2 (m) is obtained in terms of the ψ-function. An asymptotic expansion is computed for R 2 (m) as |m| → ∞. Such asymptotics are needed for establishing function spaces for solutions of semi-linear equations in bounded ✩ domains with periodicity conditions in one coordinate. As an example of application of R l (m) a forced Boussinesq equation u tt − 2bΔu t = −αΔ 2 u + Δu + βΔ u 2 + f with α, b = const > 0 and β = const ∈ R is considered in a unit disc with homogeneous boundary and initial data. Construction of its global-in-time solutions involves the use of the functions R 1 (m) and R 2 (m) which are responsible for the nonlinear smoothing effect.