Structure of Lie point and variational symmetry algebras for a class of odes

Abstract

It is known for scalar ordinary differential equations, and for systems of ordinary differential equations of order not higher than the third, that their Lie point symmetry algebras is of maximal dimension if and only if they can be reduced by a point transformation to the trivial equation y(n)=0. For arbitrary systems of ordinary differential equations of order n ≥ 3 reducible by point transformations to the trivial equation, we determine the complete structure of their Lie point symmetry algebras as well as that for their variational, and their divergence symmetry algebras. As a corollary, we obtain the maximal dimension of the Lie point symmetry algebra for any system of linear or nonlinear ordinary differential equations.