Definition

Let U=XDU=X\setminus D be a punctured smooth complex curve. A meromorphic flat connection on UU has an irregular singularity at xDx\in D if it is not there.

After a finite ramified cover and a formal , an irregular connection decomposes into pieces containing nonconstant exponential factors. These factors, together with formal monodromy, describe its formal type.

Analytic classification

Formal type does not determine the analytic connection. Sectorial fundamental solutions differ by , which record the missing analytic information.

References
  1. Philip Boalch, “Geometry and braiding of Stokes data; fission and wild character varieties,” Annals of Mathematics 179 (2014), 301–365. arXiv.