scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1303488
Two candidates are proposed as discrete analogues of the nonlinear Ermakov equation \[ yy_{xx}-\textstyle {1\over 2}y^2_x+ 2fy^2-c=0,\tag{1} \] in which \(f\) is a given function of \(x\), and \(c\neq 0\) is a constant. This equation can be converted (by differentiation) into a third-order linear equation and is also known to have a general solution that can be expressed as a quadratic form in solutions to the second-order linear equation \[ \psi_{xx}+ f(x)\psi=0. \tag{2} \] The first discretisation considered by the authors is of degree two and has several features in common with equation (1). In particular, it is linearisable into a third-order difference equation, and has a general solution which is related to the solutions to a discrete version of (2) by means of a quadratic form. The second discretisation, involving the Schwarzian derivative, leads to an equation of degree one that matches (1) in certain respects. The authors go on to extend their discretisation procedure to a nonlinear Gambier equation that is linearisable into a fourth-order equation. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0910.00045].
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