Polygons of Petrović and Fine, algebraic ODEs, and contemporary mathematics

DOI10.1007/S00407-020-00250-3MaRDI QIDQ2212346zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Vladimir Dragović, Irina Goryuchkina

Publication date 20 November 2020

Published in Archive for History of Exact Sciences (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1908.03644

algebraic ordinary differential equations Newton-Puiseux polygonal method

History of mathematics in the 19th century (01A55) History of ordinary differential equations (34-03) Implicit ordinary differential equations, differential-algebraic equations (34A09)

Abstract: Here, we study the genesis and evolution of geometric ideas and techniques in investigations of movable singularities of algebraic ordinary differential equations. This leads us to the work of Mihailo Petrovic on algebraic differential equations and in particular his geometric ideas captured in his polygon method from the last years of the XIXth century, which have been left completely unnoticed by the experts. This concept, also developed in a bit a different direction and independently by Henry Fine, generalizes the famous Newton-Puiseux polygonal method and applies to algebraic ODEs rather than algebraic equations. Although remarkable, the Petrovic legacy has been practically neglected in the modern literature, while the situation is less severe in the case of results of Fine. Thus, we study the development of the ideas of Petrovic and Fine and their places in contemporary mathematics.

Review text

The geometrically oriented contribution of Mihailo Petrović (1868--1943) to the theory of ordinary differential equations, in particular to generalizing the Newton-Puiseux polygonal method for algebraic ODEs, has been largely overlooked. Princeton mathematician \textit{H. B. Fine}'s cotemporaneous, independent work on the topic, ``On the functions defined by differential equations, with an extension of the Puiseux polygon construction to these equations [Am. J. Math. 11, 317--328 (1889; JFM 21.0302.01)] is cited in works such as \textit{V. V. Golubev}'s [Vorlesungen über die analytische Theorie der Differentialgleichungen (Russian). Moskau-Leningrad: Staatsverlag für technisch-theoretische Literatur (1941; Zbl 0061.16608)] where other parts of Petrović's 1894 thesis are noted. The authors conjecture that the topic may have failed to get more attention because Petrović's early students at the University of Belgrade who did research on this topic had careers interrupted by war and subsequent students did not pursue it. The 1894 thesis, written in French, was apparently not published in any other fashion until 1999, but his polygonal method appeared in 1899 [Acta Math. 22, 379--386 (1899; JFM 30.0293.01)]. The authors make some interesting comparisons between the lives of Fine and Petrović, noting that they both were key figures in raising the international stature in mathematics of their respective universities. Main attention is given to paraphrasing proofs from Petrović's thesis and from others who developed further aspects starting notably in the 1990s by such as J. Cano, P. Aroca, F. Jung and A. D. Bruno. Movable singularities of algebraic ODEs of the first order is a major application; Riccatti equations also play a role. The references provide an overview of the current state of the field. Though published in a history journal this largely mathematical exposition is explicitly intended not only for those who may wish to acknowledge the overlooked work of Petrović, but also for those wishing to gain new mathematical insights from his work.

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