Symmetries of planar algebraic vector fields

Abstract

In this paper, we address the computation of the symmetries of polynomial (and thus also rational) planar vector fields using elements from Computer Algebra. We show that they can be recovered from the symmetries of the roots of an associated univariate complex polynomial which is constructed as a generator of a certain elimination ideal. Computing symmetries of the roots of the auxiliary polynomial is a task considerably simpler than the original problem, which can be done efficiently working with classical Computer Algebra tools. Special cases, in which the group of symmetries of the polynomial roots is infinite, are separately considered and investigated. The presented theory is complemented by illustrative examples. The main steps of the procedure for investigating the symmetries of a given polynomial vector field are summarized in a flow chart for clarity.