The Lamé family of connections on the projective line (Q1000297)

A Lamé connection is a rank two connection on the projective line having four simple poles, with local exponents \(1/4\) and \(-1/4\). All irreducible Lamé connections are derived from the rank one regular connections on an elliptic curve [\textit{N. J. Hitchin}, J. Differ. Geom. 42, No. 1, 30--112 (1995; Zbl 0861.53049)]. The differential Galois group of a Lamé connection is either dihedral (finite of infinite) or reducible. The authors give algorithms of computing the locus of the Lamé connection having a finite Galois group of a given order, as well as the minimal polynomial for the corresponding field extension. As examples of these computations, known algebraic solutions of the Painlevé VI equation and the classical Lamé equation are obtained. A comparison with the results by \textit{K. Okamoto} [Jap. J. Math., New Ser. 5, 1--79 (1979; Zbl 0426.58017)] is carried out.