On the meromorphic solutions of an equation of Hayman

The behavior of meromorphic solutions of differential equations has been the subject of much study. Research has concentrated on the value distribution of meromorphic solutions and their rates of growth. The purpose of the present paper is to show that a thorough search will yield a list of all meromorphic solutions of a multi-parameter ordinary differential equation introduced by Hayman. This equation does not appear to be integrable for generic choices of the parameters so we do not find all solutions-only those that are meromorphic. This is achieved by combining Wiman-Valiron theory and local series analysis. Hayman conjectured that all entire solutions of this equation are of finite order. All meromorphic solutions of this equation are shown to be either polynomials or entire functions of order one. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.