A sequence { a_n }, 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 Fekete .

Lemma: For every superadditive sequence { a_n }, n ≥ 1, the limit lim a_n/n exists and equal to sup a_n/n.

Similarly, a function f(x) is superadditive if

for all x and y in the domain of f.

The analogue of Fekete lemma holds for superadditive functions as well.

There are extensions of Fekete's lemma that do not require equation (1) 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 [2].

References

2. Michael J. Steele (1997). Probability theory and combinatorial optimization. SIAM, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-89871-380-3.