Schröder's equation

Schröder's equation, named after Ernst Schröder, is a functional equation with one independent variable: given the function h, find the function Ψ such that Schröder's equation is an eigenvalue equation for the composition operator Ch that sends a function f to f(h(.)). If a is a fixed point of h, meaning h(a) = a, then either Ψ(a) = 0 (or ∞) or s = 1. Thus, provided that Ψ(a) is finite and Ψ′(a) does not vanish or diverge, the eigenvalue s is given by s = h′(a). For a = 0, if h is analytic on the unit disk, fixes 0, and 0 < h′(0) < 1, then Gabriel Koenigs showed in 1884 that there is an analytic (non-trivial) Ψ satisfying Schröder's equation. This is one of the first steps in a long line of theorems fruitful for understanding composition operators on analytic function spaces, cf. Koenigs function. Equations such as Schröder's are suitable to encoding self-similarity, and have thus been extensively utilized in studies of nonlinear dynamics (often referred to colloquially as chaos theory). It is also used in studies of turbulence, as well as the renormalization group. An equivalent transpose form of Schröder's equation for the inverse Φ = Ψ−1 of Schröder's conjugacy function is h(Φ(y)) = Φ(sy). The change of variables α(x) = log(Ψ(x))/log(s) (the Abel function) further converts Schröder's equation to the older Abel equation, α(h(x)) = α(x) + 1. Similarly, the change of variables Ψ(x) = log(φ(x)) converts Schröder's equation to Böttcher's equation, φ(h(x)) = (φ(x))s. Moreover, for the velocity, β(x) = Ψ/Ψ′, Julia's equation, β(f(x)) = f′(x)β(x), holds. The n-th power of a solution of Schröder's equation provides a solution of Schröder's equation with eigenvalue sn, instead. In the same vein, for an invertible solution Ψ(x) of Schröder's equation, the (non-invertible) function Ψ(x) k(log Ψ(x)) is also a solution, for any periodic function k(x) with period log(s). All solutions of Schröder's equation are related in this manner. Schröder's equation was solved analytically if a is an attracting (but not superattracting) fixed point, that is 0 < h′(a) < 1 by Gabriel Koenigs (1884).