Theory of linear G-difference equations

Abstract

We introduce the notion of difference equation defined on a structured set. The symmetry group of the structure determines the set of difference operators. All main notions in the theory of difference equations are introduced as invariants of the symmetry group. Linear equations are modules over the skew group algebra, solutions are morphisms relating a given equation to other equations,symmetries of an equation are module endomorphisms and conserved structures are invariants in the tensor algebra of the given equation. We show that the equations and their solutions can be described through representations of the isotropy group of the symmetry group of the underluing set. We relate our notion of difference equations and solutions to systems of classical difference equations and their solutions and show that our notions include these as a special case.