English

The gambler's ruin problem in path representation form

Probability 2007-05-23 v1

Abstract

We consider the classical one-dimensional random walk of a particle on the right-half real line. We assume that the particle is initially at position x=k, k > 0, and moves to the right with probability p or to the left with probability 1-p. We consider that the particle is absorbed at the origin without fixing the number of steps needed to get there. We calculate the probability P(x=k) that the particles end up at the origin, given that it starts at x=k, by means of a geometric representation of this random walk in terms of paths on a two-dimensional lattice.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math/0111242,
  title  = {The gambler's ruin problem in path representation form},
  author = {Oscar Bolina},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math/0111242},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

latex 8 pages, 4 figures