Stability of functional equations and properties of groups (Q2272522)

Let \(G\) be a group and let \(f: G\to\mathbb{R}\) be an approximate homomorphism in the sense that for some \(K\geq 0\): \[ |f(xy)-f(x)-f(y)|\leq K,\qquad x,y\in G. \] Asking about the stability of homomorphisms (or Cauchy functional equations) means to ask whether there exists an exact homomorphism \(g\) between \(G\) and \(\mathbb{R}\) which approximates \(f\). One can prove that the mapping \(g\) given by \[ g(x):=\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{f(x^{2^n})}{2^n},\qquad x\in G, \] is well-defined and satisfies \[ g(x^2)=2g(x),\qquad x\in G, \] and \[ |f(x)-g(x)|\leq K,\qquad x\in G. \] Thus the question about stability is reduced to understanding whether \(g\) is also additive. The positive answer may depend on some additional properties of the mapping \(f\) itself but one can observe that some properties of the group \(G\) yield additivity of \(g\). The paper contains a review of such properties which include in particular commutativity and amenability. Relations to stability of other functional equations are considered. The survey concludes with some open problems.