Hypertranscendence and linear difference equations, the exponential case (Q6903910)

This paper investigates the differential algebraic nature of meromorphic solutions of linear shift difference equations with rational coefficients. More precisely, let \(\rho\) be the automorphism of \(\mathbb{C}(x)\) defined by \(\rho(y)(x)=y(x+h)\), where \(h\in\mathbb{C}^\ast\). The author studies meromorphic solutions \(f\in\mathcal{M}(\mathbb{C})\) of systems \(\rho(Y)=AY\), \(A\in \mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{C}(x))\), and asks whether such solutions can satisfy nontrivial algebraic differential equations over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\).\N\NThe main result (Theorem 1) gives a precise structural description when the solutions are differentially algebraic. If \(\mathcal{Y}=(f_1,\dots,f_n)^\top\) is a meromorphic solution of \(\rho(Y)=AY\) and each \(f_i\) is differentially algebraic over \(\mathbb{C}(x)\), then there exist \(\ell\in\mathbb{N}^\ast\) and \(\lambda_1,\dots,\lambda_k\in\mathbb{C}\) such that \(f_i \in \mathbb{C}_{\ell h}(x)[e^{\lambda_1 x},\dots,e^{\lambda_k x}]\) for all \(i\), where \(\mathbb{C}_{\ell h}\) denotes the field of \(\ell h\)-periodic meromorphic functions. Thus, any differentially algebraic solution necessarily lies in a ring generated by periodic functions and exponentials. In particular, unless the solution has this very special form, it must be {differentially transcendental}. As an immediate corollary, the same conclusion holds for scalar linear difference equations of arbitrary order.\N\NThe proof relies on the parametrized difference Galois theory developed by \textit{C. Hardouin} and \textit{M. F. Singer} [Math. Ann. 342, No. 2, 333--377 (2008; Zbl 1163.12002)]. The strategy is to compare the usual difference Galois group with the \((\rho,\delta)\)-Galois group encoding differential relations among solutions. When the difference Galois group is irreducible and connected, a key argument shows that the existence of too many differential relations forces the group to be small, leading to a contradiction. An induction on the order of the system then reduces the general case to affine equations, which are treated by a refined Galois-theoretic analysis.\N\NThis work substantially extends previous hypertranscendence results for shift, \(q\)-difference, and Mahler equations. It provides a sharp dichotomy: solutions of linear shift equations are either built from periodic functions and exponentials, or they are differentially transcendental.