A note on the arithmetic of differential equations (Q5951552)

The author shows how arithmetic information (namely the \(p\)-curvatures) about some linear second-order homogeneous differential equation can be used for computing its Galois group. He reproves the reviewer's result [Theoretical and applied problems for differential equations and algebra, Collect. sci. Works, Kiev 1978, 71-75 (1978; Zbl 0435.12012)] in Theorem 1. The equation \( y''= ay\), where \(a\) is a polynomial of odd degree, has Galois group \(\text{SL}_2\). When an equation \(L(y)=0\) has only regular singularities and satisfies so-called exponent restriction (this means that \(L\) is irreducible), he proves: Theorem 2. Let \(L(y)=0\) be a second-order differential equation with regular singular points whose \(p\)-curvatures are nilpotent and non-zero for infinitely many primes \(p\), whose Galois group is a subgroup of \(\text{SL}_2\) and which satisfies exponent restriction. Then the differential Galois group of \(L\) is the whole of \(\text{SL}_2\). (See for comparison Proposition 7 in the reviewer's paper [Math. USSR, Sb. 37, 327-335 (1980); translation from Mat. Sb., N. Ser. 109(151), 355-364 (1979; Zbl 0416.12013)]).