Some structural results on \(\mathrm{D}^n\)-finite functions (Q2307438)

Let \(K\) be a field of characteristic zero and \(K[[x]]\), the ring of formal power series over \(K\) with usual derivation \(d/dx\). An element \(f\in K[[x]]\) is called \(D-finite\) if it satisfies a differential equation with coefficients in \(K[x].\) For any differential subring \(R\subseteq K[[x]],\) let \(D(R)\) denotes the set of all elements in \(K[[x]]\) that satisfy a differential equation with coefficients in \(R\). Note that \(D(R)\) is also a subring of \(K[[x]]\) containing \(R.\) Any \(f\in D(R)\) is said to be differentially definable over \(R\) and note that \(f\in D(R)\) is differentially definable if and only if the \(K-\)subspace generated by \(f\) and its derivatives is finite dimensional. Under these notations, the set of \(D-finite\) functions in \(K[[x]]\) is \(D(K[x])\). One can inductively define the subring \(D^n(R)\) of \(K[[x]]\) to be \(D(D^{n-1}R)\) and obtain a tower of differential rings \[R\subset D(R)\subset D^2(R)\cdots D^n(R)\cdots \subset K[[x]].\] The authors prove several structural results on \(D^n(K[X])\) and generalise the classical results on \(D(K[x])\) to \(D^n(K[x])\). For example, for any \(f\in D(K[x])\) and \(a(x)\in K[[x]]\) algebraic over \(K(x),\) it is known that \(f\circ a\in D(K[x])\) [\textit{M. Kauers} et al., Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 8942, 105--125 (2015; Zbl 1439.16049)]. In this paper, the authors show that for any \(f\in D^n(K[x])\) and \(a(x)\) algebraic over the fraction field \(F_m(x)\) of \(D^m(K[x])\), \(f\circ a\in D^{m+n} \) whenever \(a(0)=0\) (appears as Theorem \(8\)). The authors also show that that this estimate \(m+n\) is tight using the theory of Picard-Vessiot closures, which is adequately supplied in the paper.