Minimization of differential equations and algebraic values of $E$-functions

A power series being given as the solution of a linear differential equation with appropriate initial conditions, minimization consists in finding a non-trivial linear differential equation of minimal order having this power series as a solution. This problem exists in both homogeneous and inhomogeneous variants; it is distinct from, but related to, the classical problem of factorization of differential operators. Recently, minimization has found applications in Transcendental Number Theory, more specifically in the computation of non-zero algebraic points where Siegel's $E$-functions take algebraic values. We present algorithms and implementations for these questions, and discuss examples and experiments.
Comment: 48 pages