Generalized symmetry relations for connection matrices in the phase-integral method

Abstract

We consider the phase-integral method applied to an arbitrary ordinary linear differential equation of the second-order and study how its symmetries affect the connection matrices associated with its general solution. We reduce the obtained exact general relation for the matrices to its limiting case introducing a concept of the effective Stokes constant. We also propose a concept of an effective Stokes diagram which can be a useful tool for analyzing difficult equations. We show that effective Stokes domains which can be overlapped by a symmetry transformation are associated with the same effective Stokes constant and can be described by the same analytical function. Basing on the derived symmetry relations, we propose a way to write functional equations for the effective Stokes constants. Finally, we provide a generalization of the derived symmetry relations for an arbitrary order linear system of the ordinary linear differential equations. This work also contains an example of usage of the presented ideas in a case of a real physical problem.