Differential transcendence criteria for second-order linear difference equations and elliptic hypergeometric functions (Q1996823)

Solutions of differential equations are one of the most famous sources of transcendental functions that play an important role in applications. Painlevé equations are a bright example. Also difference equations can serve these goals. Moreover, there are transcendental functions that cannot be obtained as solutions of differential or difference equations. The Gamma function is a classical example. In this paper, the authors show that this phenomenon is not accidental. Let \(K\) be a \(\sigma\delta\)-field, i.e., \(K\) is equipped with an automorphism \(\sigma\) and a derivation \(\delta\) such that \(\sigma\circ\delta=\delta\circ\sigma\). The main result of the paper is the following statement. Any nontrivial solution of the difference equation \[ \sigma^{2}(y)+a\sigma(y)+by=0\quad a,b\in K,b\neq0,\tag{1} \] is differentially transcendental over \(K\) if, roughly speaking, in the Galois groups of equation (1) and for the associated equation \(\sigma(y)=by\) there are enough automorphisms. Additionally, in the field \(K\), there must be enough many constants. The practical value and effectiveness of the criterion of differential transcendence proposed by the authors is illustrated ``by proving differential transcendence of `most' elliptic hypergeometric functions''.