Which sequences are orbits?

Abstract

In the study of discrete dynamical systems, we typically start with a function from a space into itself, and ask questions about the properties of sequences of iterates of the function. In this paper we reverse the direction of this study. In particular, restricting to the complex plane, we start with a sequence of complex numbers and study the functions (if any) for which this sequence is an orbit under iteration. This gives rise to questions of existence and of uniqueness. We resolve some questions, and show that these issues can be quite delicate.