On the exact WKB analysis for the third order ordinary differential equations with a large parameter (Q1585455)

In section 1, the authors study a class of differential equations of third-order which admits integral representations for their solutions. This class of differential equations originated from problems found in quantum-mechanics. Since the integral representations for these solutions are closely related to the Borel sum of the WKB solutions, a detailed computer-assisted study of the integrals are found in section 2. Many results are shown illustrating how the configuration of the saddle-points and the steepest descent paths change as the variables of the integrals move around. The Stokes geometry for an operator, \[ H= {d^3\over dx^3}+ 3\eta^2 a(x){d\over dx}+ \eta^3 b(x), \] is carefully developed in the following ansatz: Assume that the Riemann surface \({\mathcal R}= \{(x, \xi); \xi^3+ 3a(x)\xi+ b(x)= 0\}\) is connected. Suppose further the period integral \(\oint_\gamma \xi(x) dx\) for a closed path \(\gamma\) in \({\mathcal R}\) should never be a real number. The Stokes geometry for this operator \(H\) is then carefully developed with a series of nearly fourty illustrations showing the various changes based upon the moving of the variables.