Formal reduction theory of meromorphic differential equations: a group theoretic view (Q789580)

[The complete version of the following abridged review is available on demand.] Let F be an ordinary differential field with an algebraically closed field of constants of zero characteristic. Consider the system of linear differential equations (1) \(y'=Ay\), where \(A\in M(n,F)\). What is the canonical form of a matrix A related with a Loewy transformation? The answer to this question is not very simple and it depends essentially on the field F. Evidently in the simplest case, when \(F=C\), such form may be the Jordan normal form of A. The other extremal case, when F is so ''vast'' that in it any system (1) has solution, shows us a zero matrix as canonical. The general solution of the above problem is unknown, excluding the case in which F is the field of formal Laurent series. For the field of formal Laurent series \textit{H. L. Turrittin} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc., 107, 485-507 (1963; Zbl 0115.070)] \textit{A. Levelt} [Ark. Math. 13, 1-27 (1975; Zbl 0305.34008)], and \textit{W. Balser, W. B. Jurkat,} and \textit{D. A. Lutz} [Funkc. Ekvacioj, Ser. Int. 22, 197-221 (1979; Zbl 0434.34002)] solved the problem by a different method. The algorithm presented in the paper for the reduction of (1) to a canonical form is based on the theory of algebraic groups methods. It leads to sharp bounds on the number of coefficients of the Laurent expansion of A that are needed to predict the canonical reduction of A and has considerable interest by itself.