
82 
In Theorem 
2.5, 
the integer 
v 
is the 
LCM 
of  the slopes of  the Newton 
polygon 
N(A) 
(which belongs to 
Q+ 
). 
The ramification 
x 
= 
t’ 
to 
(A) 
is 
a system 
(A,) 
in 
t; 
the slopes of 
(A,) 
are the slopes of 
(A) 
multiplied by 
v 
; 
they are integers (the degree in 
t 
of  the polynomials 
qi 
). 
It 
is very important to notice that in general the entries of  the matrix 
H(t) 
are divergent series (like in the Airy example 
. . . 
) 
In a sector 
V, 
we  can represent the “symbol” 
xL 
by an actual holomor- 
phic function:  we  write 
xL 
and we  choose a determination of 
the logarithm over 
V. 
In the linear case we  have the following fundamental existence theorem 
(Birkhoff fundamental existence theqrem) in PoincarB’s style. 
Theorem 
2.6. 
(Birkhoff) Let 
(A) 
Y’=A(x)Y 
be  a  (germ 
of) 
meromorphic  system.  For  each direction d, there  exists a 
sector 
V 
bisected  by d  and a holomorphic matrix H 
in 
V, 
asymptotic 
in 
V 
to H  (in Poincare’s sense) such that F 
= 
HxLeQ 
is 
a fundamental actual 
solution 
of 
(A). 
We suppose that when we  write the expression of 
F, 
we  have chosen a 
branch 
of 
Logx on 
V 
and therefore 
a 
determination of 
xL 
and 
a 
determi- 
The reader can find a proof of  Theorem 
2.6 
in W. Wasow’s book 
[33]. 
The proof is quite delicate. 
It 
is possible to improve this result: if 
ke 
is the 
smallest strictly positive slope of 
N(A), 
then we  can choose for 
V 
a 
sector 
of  opening 
2. 
Moreover, for some choices of 
d 
it can be possible to choose 
a bigger sector 
[29]. 
We  will give some indications below. 
Let 
q 
E 
$[+I 
: 
q(t) 
= 
pt-’++. 
(p 
E 
C, 
k 
E 
N*). 
The “dominant part” 
of 
eq(t) 
is 
exp(pt-’). 
The directions  (in the t-plane) such that 
pt-’ 
E 
iR 
are oscillation lines for 
exp(pt-’). 
They are (in the classical terminology) 
Stokes lines. Sometimes they are called anti-Stokes lines (which is more in 
the spirit of  Stokes’ work. 
. . 
). 
We  suppose that the Newton polygon 
N(A) 
of 
our 
system admits only 
one strictly positive slope 
k 
> 
0. 
Then 
qi 
= 
pzt-‘ 
(i 
= 
1,. 
. 
. , 
rn). 
The 
pi’s 
are solutions of  an algebraic equation  (the indicia1 equation  associated to 
the slope 
k). 
The simplest case is when the 
rn 
values of 
pi 
are all distinct. 
In this case, we  can consider the system 
nation of 
t 
= 
xt 
= 
e(t)Logz. 
(End 
A) 
X’ 
= 
AX 
- 
XA 
= 
[A, 
X]