The joint spectral radius (JSR) of a set of matrices characterizes the maximal asymptotic growth rate of an infinite product of matrices of the set. This quantity appears in a number of applications including the stability of switched and hybrid systems. The natural convex problem used for the stability analysis of these systems searches for a Lyapunov function.
Legat, B., Parrilo, P. A., & Jungers, R. (2017). Certifying unstability of Switched Systems using Sum of Squares Programming. 36th Benelux Meeting on Systems and Control, Spa, Belgium. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/274592