SECOND ORDER DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS WITH ALGEBRAIC SOLUTIONS

Abstract

We are surveying recent results that describe second order differential operators having only algebraic solutions in the sense of Galois theory. We call such operators algebraic. For hypergeometric operators, this problem was studied by Schwarz and Klein who also gave results that describe all second order linear differential operators with a full set of algebraic solutions. Starting from their work, we see algebraic operators as pull-backs of algebraic hypergeometric operators via Belyi functions. We are surveying some of the main results describing second order operators with a full set of algebraic solutions, especially those obtained by using the properties of the pull-back functions. Using the Grothendieck correspondence, these properties transfer to properties for their corresponding dessins d’enfants.