Computable examples of the maximal Lyapunov exponent

Abstract

Some new examples are given of sequences of matrix valued random variables for which it is possible to compute the maximal Lyapunov exponent. The examples are constructed by using a sequence of stopping times to group the original sequence into commuting blocks. If the original sequence is the outcome of independent Bernoulli trials with success probability p, then the maximal Lyapunov exponent may be expressed in terms of power series in p, with explicit formulae for the coefficients. The convexity of the maximal Lyapunov exponent as a function of p is discussed, as is an application to branching processes in a random environment.