Three approaches to detecting discrete integrability (Q2000986)

A class of discrete equations is studied from different points of view. For a meromorphic function \(f\), the counting function \(n(r,f)\) is the number of poles of \(f\) in the disk \(\{z\in\mathbb C:|z|\leq r\}\) counting multiplicities, and \[ N(r,f)=\int_0^r\frac{n(t,f)-n(0,f)}{t}dt+n(0,f)\log r. \] Define also \[ m(r,f)=\frac{1}{2\pi}\int_0^{2\pi}\log^+|f(re^{i\theta})|d\theta,\;\;\;T(r,f)=m(r,f)+N(r,f), \] where \(\log^+x=\max\{\log x,0\}\), \(x\geq0\). The order and the hyper-order of \(f\) are \[ \sigma(f)=\limsup_{r\to\infty}\frac{\log T(r,f)}{\log r},\;\;\;\varsigma(f)=\limsup_{r\to\infty}\frac{\log\log T(r,f)}{\log r}, \] respectively. The authors prove the following theorems. Theorem 1. Let \(y\) be a non-rational meromorphic solution of the equation \[ y(z+1)+y(z-1)=\frac{a(z)y^2(z)+b(z)y(z)+c(z)}{y^2(z)}, \] where \(a\), \(b\) and \(c\not\equiv0\) are rational functions. If \(\varsigma(f)<1\), then \(a\equiv0\), \(b(z)=Az+B\) and \(c(z)=C\), where \(A\), \(B\) and \(C\) are complex constants. Theorem 3. Let \(\{y_j\}_{j\in\mathbb N}\) be a sequence of non-constant rational functions of \(z\) solving the equation \[ y_{j+1}+y_{j-1}=\frac{a_jy_j^2+b_jy_j+c_j}{y_j^2}, \] where \(a_j\), \(b_j\) and \(c_j\not\equiv0\) are rational functions of \(z\). If the degree of \(\{y_j\}_{j\in\mathbb N}\) grows at most polynomially in \(j\), then \(a_j=0\), \(b_j=Aj+B\) and \(C_j=C+D(-1)^j\), where \(A\), \(B\), \(C\) and \(D\) are constants.