On Lie problem and differential invariants for the subgroup of the plane Cremona group (Q2407348)

The Cremona group is the group of birational automorphisms of the n-dimensional projective space over a field \({\mathbb K}\); it is denoted by \(\mathrm{Cr}_n({\mathbb K})\). Consider the set \(\mathcal{E}\) of ODEs of the form \[ d^2 y / d x^2 = F(x,y) \] with \(F\) a rational function. The group of automorphisms of this set is a subgroup \(G\) of \(\mathrm{Cr}_2 ({\mathbb C})\) (the symmetry group of any equation \(E \in \mathcal{E}\) is thus also a subgroup of \(\mathrm{Cr}_2 ({\mathbb C})\)). This connection makes it possible to study subgroups of \(\mathrm{Cr}_2 ({\mathbb C})\) in terms of the theory of symmetries of differential equations, in particular of those in \(\mathcal{E}\). In the latter case (at difference with the case where \(F\) is generic), there exists a global and computable classification of \(E \in \mathcal{E}\) up to isomorphisms; this is based on the classification of relative and absolute differential invariants, pioneered by S. Lie and his pupil A. Tresse (the authors also point out recent work by \textit{B. Kruglikov}, only available in preprint form [``Point classification of 2nd order ODEs: Tresse classification revisited and beyond'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:0809.4653}]). The authors show that \(G\) is connected and generated by \(X_1 = x^2 \partial_x + x \partial_y\), \( X_2 = 2 x \partial_x + \partial_y\), \(X_3 = \partial_x\), \(X_4 = \partial_y\), \(X_R = r(x) \partial_y \), with \(r(x)\) rational functions; its action is defined by \[ x \;\to \;\frac{a x + b}{c x + d} \;, \;\;y \to \frac{\lambda \, y}{c x + d} \, + \, r(x) \;, \] where \(a,b,c,d,\lambda\) are constants satisfying \(ad - bc \not= 0\), \(\lambda \not= 0\). The authors apply then methods of the theory of symmetry of differential equations; in particular, related to \textit{differential invariants}. Theorem 1 gives the number of differential invariants for the action of (the prolongation of) \(G\) on \(J^k M\). Theorem 2 provides generators for the field of differential invariants, and identifies invariant derivations. Theorem 3 gives the classification of equations in the class \(\mathcal{E}\) up to the action of \(G\). The paper also considers a number of examples.