On a general difference Galois theory. I (Q962060)

The author has developed a new Galois theory of difference equations, being based on \textit{H. Umemura}'s ideas [``Galois theory and Painlevé equations'', Théories asymptotiques et équations de Painlevé, Soc. Math. France. Sémin. Congr. 14, 299--339 (2006; Zbl 1156.34080)]. This theory generalizes Picard-Vessiot and Galois theory of linear difference equations. It attaches to an arbitrary difference field extension \(L/k\) of characteristic 0 a formal group \(\text{Inf-gal}(L/k)\) of infinite dimension in general and of particular type called a Lie-Ritt functor, which is a group functor of coordinate transformations defined by a system of partial differential equations. Unfortunately, in this theory Galois correspondence is not expected. As replacement to it for a tower of difference field extensions \(L/M/k\) serves the following Conjecture: The canonical morphism from \(\text{Lie}(\text{Inf-gal}(L/k))\) to \(\text{Lie}(\text{Inf-gal}(M/k))\) is surjective.