Convex and subharmonic functions on graphs

Abstract

We explore the relationship between convex and subharmonic functions on discrete sets. Our principal concern is to determine the setting in which a convex function is necessarily subharmonic. We initially consider the primary notions of convexity on graphs and show that more structure is needed to establish the desired result. To that end, we consider a notion of convexity defined on lattice-like graphs generated by normed abelian groups. For this class of graphs, we are able to prove that all convex functions are subharmonic.