A zero structure theorem for differential parametric systems (Q1329185)

This paper deals with a characterization of the parametric values for which a differential parametric system has solutions in a differentially closed extension of the (differential) field of the coefficients of the system. Let \(K\) be a differential field and \(K\{ \overline{U}, \overline{X}\}\) be the ring of differential polynomials in variables \(\overline{U}= (U_ 1,\dots, U_ m)\) and \(\overline {X}= (X_ 0,\dots, X_ n)\). The variables \(\overline{U}\) play the role of parameters in the sequel. By a differential parametric system, the authors mean a system \[ \bigwedge_{p\in P} p=0 \wedge \bigwedge_{d\in D} d\neq 0, \tag{*} \] where \(P\) and \(D\) are finite subsets of \(K\{ \overline{U}, \overline{X}\}\). Let \(E\) be a differentially closed extension of \(K\). The question which this paper deals with, is to characterize the variety \(S= \{\overline {u}\in E^ m\mid \exists\;\overline{x}\in E^ n (\overline{u}, \overline{x})\) is a solution of (*)\}. A cover \(\{(S_ 1, ASC_ 1),\dots, (S_ s, ASC_ s)\}\) of the parametric system (*) is a set of solution functions \((S_ i, ASC_ i)\) of (*) in the sense of \textit{W. Y. Sit} [A theory for parametric linear systems, Proc. ISSAC'91, 112-121 (ACM Press 1991)] such that each \((\overline{u}, \overline{x})\) which is a solution of (*) in \(E\) is a solution of some \((S_ i, ASC_ i)\) (i.e. \((\overline{u}, \overline{x})\) is a solution of the system \[ \bigwedge_{p\in ASC_ i} p=0\wedge \bigwedge_{d\in D} d\neq 0\wedge J_ i \neq 0, \] where \(J_ i\) is the product of the initials and separants (with respect to \(\overline{X}\)) of the \(p\) in \(ASC_ i\). The definitions of a solution function and of a cover imply that \(S= \bigcup^ s_{i=1} S_ i\). The main result of this paper (Theorem 2.3) is the existence of an algorithm to find a cover of the parametric system (*). An explicit algorithm is given in Section 3 of the paper. An immediate consequence of this result and of the relation \(S= \bigcup^ s_{i=1} S_ i\) is a new method to eliminate quantifiers in formulas of the language of differential fields (such an algorithm was first described by Seidenberg in 1956). In the case where the \(p\)'s and \(d\)'s are ordinary polynomials, a refinement of the result gives an efficient algorithm the authors implemented on a SUN -3/50 in Common Lisp. Some explicit systems are discussed and explicit covers are given.