On maxitive integration

A functional is said to be maxitive if it commutes with the (pointwise) supremum operation. Such functionals find application in particular in decision theory and related fields. In the present paper, maxitive functionals are characterized as integrals with respect to maxitive measures (also known as possibility measures or idempotent measures). These maxitive integrals are then compared with the usual additive and nonadditive integrals on the basis of some important properties, such as convexity, subadditivity, and the law of iterated expectations

On maxitive integration

The Shilkret integral is maxitive (i.e., the integral of a pointwise supremum of functions is the supremum of their integrals), but defined only for nonnegative functions. In the present paper, some properties of this integral (such as subadditivity and a law of iterated expectations) are studied, in comparison with the additive and Choquet integrals. Furthermore, the definition of a maxitive integral for all real functions is discussed. In particular, a convex, maxitive integral is introduced and some of its properties are derived