A note on iterative roots of PM functions (Q2480373)

A continuous function \(F:I \to I\) is called a PM function if the number \(N(F)\) of non-monotone points of \(F\) in \(I\) is finite. For each PM function \(F\) we have \[ 0=N(F^0)\leq N(F)\leq N(F^2)\leq \cdots \leq N(F^n)\leq \cdots \] (\(F^k\) denotes the \(k\)--th iterate of \(F\)). Let \(H(F)\) denote the smallest positive integer \(k\) such that \(N(F^k)=N(F^{k+1})\). One of the results of the paper is the following. Theorem: Let \(F\) be a PM function on \(I\) and \(H(F)\leq 1\). Then for every integer \(n>1\) there exists a continuous iterative root \(f\) of \(F\) of order \(n\) such that \(H(f)=1\).