Abstract
There are three different actions of the unimodular Lie group SL(2, ℂ) on a two-dimensional space. In every case, we show how an ordinary differential equation admitting SL(2) as a symmetry group can be reduced in order by three, and the solution recovered from that of the reduced equation via a pair of quadratures and the solution to a linear second order equation. A particular example is the Chazy equation, whose general solution can be expressed as a ratio of two solutions to a hypergeometric equation. The reduction method leads to an alternative formula in terms of solutions to the Lamé equation, resulting in a surprising transformation between the Lamé and hypergeometric equations. Finally, we discuss the Painlevé analysis of the singularities of solutions to the Chazy equation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 225-246 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Journal of Differential Equations |
Volume | 124 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1996 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:* Supported in part by a Nuffield Science Fellowship and SERC Grant GR H39420. E-mail: p.a.clarkson ukc.ac.uk. -Supported in part by NSF Grants DMS 91-16672 and DMS 92-04192. E-mail: olver ima.umn.edu.