On characterizations, Decompositions, and Stability of Convex Sequences

Abstract

This paper introduces new characterizations, decomposition theorems, and stability results for convex sequences. We show that a sequence is convex precisely when its epigraph satisfies a midpoint convexity condition, thereby connecting discrete and geometric notions of convexity. A decomposition result proves that any sequence can be written as the difference of two convex sequences, with generalizations to higher-order convexity. We construct nontrivial convex minorants for bounded-below sequences and establish a Hyers-Ulam-type stability theorem showing that any approximately convex sequence can be uniformly approximated by a genuine convex sequence without significantly altering its values. Finally, for a concave sequence, we characterize those subsequences that are convex in it by providing slope inequalities and monotone auxiliary sequences. We explore the interplay among convexity, subadditivity, and periodically indexed subsequences.