Meromorphic solutions of linear $q$-difference equations

Abstract

In this article, we construct explicit meromorphic solutions of first order linear $q$-difference equations in the complex domain and we describe the location of all their zeros and poles. The homogeneous case leans on the study of four fundamental equations, providing the previous informations in the framework of entire or meromorphic coefficients. The inhomogeneous situation, which stems from the homogeneous one and two fundamental equations, is also described in detail. We also address the case of higher-order linear $q$-difference equations, using a classical factorization argument. All these results are illustrated by several examples.