Source localisation in simple random walks
Probability
2026-01-16 v1 Combinatorics
Abstract
We consider the problem of locating the source (starting vertex) of a simple random walk, given a snapshot of the set of edges (or vertices) visited in the first steps. Considering lattices , in dimensions , we show that the source can be identified (a) with probability bounded away from using one guess, and (b) with probability arbitrarily close to using a constant number of guesses. On the other hand, for dimensions , we show that one cannot locate the source with positive constant probability. Our arguments apply more generally to strongly transient and recurrent simple random walks on vertex-transitive graphs.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.10624,
title = {Source localisation in simple random walks},
author = {Ritesh Goenka and Peter Keevash and Tomasz Przybyłowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.10624},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
25 pages, 1 figure