We study the effective fronts of first order front propagations in two dimensions (n=2) in the periodic setting. Using PDE-based approaches, we show that for every α∈(0,1), the class of centrally symmetric polygons with rational vertices and nonempty interior is admissible as effective fronts for given front speeds in C^{1,α}(T^2,(0,∞)). This result can also be formulated in the language of stable norms corresponding to periodic metrics in T^2. Similar results were known long time ago when n≥3 for front speeds in C^∞(T^n,(0,∞)). Due to topological restrictions, the two dimensional case is much more subtle. In fact, the effective front is C^1, which cannot be a polygon, for given C^{1,1}(T^2,(0,∞)) front speeds. Our regularity requirements on front speeds are hence optimal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that polygonal effective fronts have been constructed in two dimensions.

We study the periodic homogenization of first order front propagations. Based on PDE methods, we provide a simple proof that, for n ≥ 3, the class of centrally symmetric polytopes with rational coordinates and nonempty interior is admissible as effective fronts, which was also established by I. Babenko and F. Balacheff [Sur la forme de la boule unit\'e de la norme stable unidimensionnelle, Manuscripta Math. 119 (2006) 347--358] and M. Jotz [Hedlund metrics and the stable norm, Diff. Geometry Appl. 27 (2009) 543--550] in the form of stable norms as an extension of G. A. Hedlund's classical result [Geodesics on a two-dimensional Riemannian manifold with periodic coefficients, Ann. Math. 33 (1932) 719--739]. Besides, we obtain the optimal convergence rate of the homogenization problem for this class.

We investigate Sarnak's M\"obius Disjointness Conjecture through asymptotically periodic functions. It is shown that Sarnak's conjecture for rigid dynamical systems is equivalent to the disjointness of M\"obius from asymptotically periodic functions. We give sufficient conditions and a partial answer to the later one. As an application, we show that Sarnak's conjecture holds for a class of rigid dynamical systems, which improves an earlier result of Kanigowski-Lema{\'{n}}czyk-Radziwi{\l}{\l}.