On the asymptotic properties of a family of matrices (Q1595123)

The authors consider bounded families \({\mathcal F}\) of complex \(n \times n\)-matrices. The concept of ``asymptotic order'' is introduced and how the norm of products of matrices behaves as the number of factors goes to infinity is investigated. In the case of ``defective'' families \({\mathcal F}\), using the asymptotic order one gets a deeper knowledge of the asymptotic behaviour than by just considering the so-called ``generalized spectral radius''. With reference to the well-known finiteness conjecture for finite families, the paper introduces the concepts of ``spectrum-maximizing product'' and ``limit spectrum-maximizing product'', showing that, for finite families of \(2\times 2\)-matrices, defectivity is equivalent to the existence of defective such limit products.