Iterative roots of two-dimensional mappings

Abstract As a weak version of embedding flow, the problem of iterative roots is studied extensively in one dimension, especially in monotone case. There are few results in high dimensions because the constructive method dealing with monotone mappings is unavailable. In this paper, by introducing a kind of partial order, we define the monotonicity for two-dimensional mappings and then present some results on the existence of iterative roots for linear mappings, triangle-type mappings, and co-triangle-type mappings, respectively. Our theorems show that even the property of monotonicity for iterative roots of monotone mappings, which is a trivial result in one dimension, does not hold anymore in high dimensions. At the end of this paper, the problem of iterative roots for two well-known planar mappings, that is, Hénon mappings and coupled logistic mappings, are also discussed.