Superadditivity


In mathematics, a sequence, n ≥ 1, is called superadditive if it satisfies the inequality
for all m and n. The major reason for the use of superadditive sequences is the following lemma due to Michael Fekete.
Lemma: For every superadditive sequence, n ≥ 1, the limit lim an/n exists and is equal to sup an/n.
Similarly, a function f is superadditive if
for all x and y in the domain of f.
For example, is a superadditive function for nonnegative real numbers because the square of is always greater than or equal to the square of plus the square of, for nonnegative real numbers and.
The analogue of Fekete's lemma holds for subadditive functions as well.
There are extensions of Fekete's lemma that do not require the definition of superadditivity above to hold for all m and n. There are also results that allow one to deduce the rate of convergence to the limit whose existence is stated in Fekete's lemma if some kind of both superadditivity and subadditivity is present. A good exposition of this topic may be found in Steele.
If f is a superadditive function, and if 0 is in its domain, then f ≤ 0. To see this, take the inequality at the top.. Hence
The negative of a superadditive function is subadditive.

Examples of superadditive functions

This follows from the Minkowski determinant theorem, which more generally states that is superadditive for nonnegative Hermitian matrices of size n: If are nonnegative Hermitian then.