Hermite–Padé approximation, isomonodromic deformation and hypergeometric integral

We develop an underlying relationship between the theory of rational approximations and that of isomonodromic deformations. We show that a certain duality in Hermite’s two approximation problems for functions leads to the Schlesinger transformations, i.e. transformations of a linear differential equation shifting its characteristic exponents by integers while keeping its monodromy invariant. Since approximants and remainders are described by block-Toeplitz determinants, one can clearly understand the determinantal structure in isomonodromic deformations. We demonstrate our method in a certain family of Hamiltonian systems of isomonodromy type including the sixth Painlevé equation and Garnier systems; particularly, we present their solutions written in terms of iterated hypergeometric integrals. An algorithm for constructing the Schlesinger transformations is also discussed through vector continued fractions.