Simple image set of (max,+) linear mappings (Q1582069)

By defining an addition \(a\oplus b=\max(a,b)\) and a multiplication \(a\otimes b =a+b\) for any \(a,b\in\mathbb{R}\), one can construct a max-algebra of real numbers. Then these operations can be extended to matrices and vectors in the same way as in conventional linear algebra. If \(A\) is a real \(n\times n\) matrix, then the mapping \(x\mapsto A\otimes x\) from \(\mathbb{R}^n\) to \(\mathbb{R}^n\) (\(n>1\)) is neither surjective nor injective. However, for some of such mappings (called strongly regular) there is a nonempty subset (called the simple image set) of the range, each element of which has a unique pre-image. In this paper, a description of simple image sets is presented, from which criteria for strong regularity are obtained. It is also proved that the closure of the simple image set of a strongly regular mapping \(f\) is the image of the \(k\)-th iterate of \(f\) after normalization for any \(k\geq n-1\) or, equivalently, the set of fixed points of \(f\) after normalization.