Structure theorems for linear and nonlinear differential operators admitting invariant polynomial subspaces (Q998152)

The authors derive structure theorems characterizing the spaces of linear and nonlinear differential operators preserving finite-dimensional subspaces generated by polynomials in one or several variables. The direct approach in the case of linear differential operators in one variable, besides the order of the operator, is based on two key invariants that are freely specified, namely, the degree and the deficiency relative to the space of polynomials of degree less than or equal to \(n\). There is given an explicit basis for the spaces of differential operators under consideration. This result is generalized to the case of differential operators with partial derivatives. The paper also contains some structure theorems for the case of nonlinear operators as well as applications of the obtained results.