Related papers: Variance bounding Markov chains
We proposed in \cite{bl2} a new approach to prove the metastable behavior of reversible dynamics based on potential theory and local ergodicity. In this article we extend this theory to nonreversible dynamics based on the Dirichlet…
A discrete-time Markov chain can be transformed into a new Markov chain by looking at its states along iterations of an almost surely finite stopping time. By the optional stopping theorem, any bounded harmonic function with respect to the…
We provide explicit nonasymptotic estimates for the rate of convergence of empirical means of Markov chains, together with a Gaussian or exponential control on the deviations of empirical means. These estimates hold under a "positive…
Let $P$ be a Markov kernel on a measurable space $\X$ and let $V:\X\r[1,+\infty)$. This paper provides explicit connections between the $V$-geometric ergodicity of $P$ and that of finite-rank nonnegative sub-Markov kernels $\Pc_k$…
Reversible Markov chains play a central role in stochastic modelling and in algorithms such as Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). Motivated by the fundamental importance of reversibility in classical settings, this paper develops a…
We give an analogy between non-reversible Markov chains and electric networks much in the flavour of the classical reversible results originating from Kakutani, and later Kem\'eny-Snell-Knapp and Kelly. Non-reversibility is made possible by…
Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a class of algorithms to sample complex and high-dimensional probability distributions. The Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm, the workhorse of MCMC, provides a simple recipe to construct reversible…
We prove an invariance principle (functional central limit theorem) for a vector-valued additive functional of a Markov chain for almost every starting point with respect to an ergodic equilibrium distribution. The hypothesis is a moment…
In his 2011 work, Maas has shown that the law of any time-reversible continuous-time Markov chain with finite state space evolves like a gradient flow of the relative entropy with respect to its stationary distribution. In this work we show…
We introduce the notion of order of magnitude reversibility (OM-reversibility) in Markov chains that are parametrized by a positive parameter $\ep$. OM-reversibility is a weaker condition than reversibility, and requires only the knowledge…
We discuss problems posed by the quantitative study of time inhomogeneous Markov chains. The two main notions for our purpose are merging and stability. Merging (also called weak ergodicity) occurs when the chain asymptotically forgets…
We study ergodic properties of nonlinear Markov chains and stochastic McKean-Vlasov equations. For nonlinear Markov chains we obtain sufficient conditions for existence and uniqueness of an invariant measure and uniform ergodicity. We also…
Kemeny's constant measures the efficiency of a Markov chain in traversing its states. We investigate whether structure-preserving perturbations to the transition probabilities of a reversible Markov chain can improve its connectivity while…
In this paper, we give quantitative bounds on the $f$-total variation distance from convergence of an Harris recurrent Markov chain on an arbitrary under drift and minorisation conditions implying ergodicity at a sub-geometric rate. These…
A common tool in the practice of Markov Chain Monte Carlo is to use approximating transition kernels to speed up computation when the desired kernel is slow to evaluate or intractable. A limited set of quantitative tools exist to assess the…
For a reversible and ergodic Markov chain $\{X_n,n\geq0\}$ with invariant distribution $\pi$, we show that a valid confidence interval for $\pi(h)$ can be constructed whenever the asymptotic variance $\sigma^2_P(h)$ is finite and positive.…
In this paper we propose a novel variance reduction approach for additive functionals of Markov chains based on minimization of an estimate for the asymptotic variance of these functionals over suitable classes of control variates. A…
A $k$-height on a graph $G=(V, E)$ is an assignment $V\to\{0, \ldots, k\}$ such that the value on ajacent vertices differs by at most $1$. We study the Markov chain on $k$-heights that in each step selects a vertex at random, and, if…
We are interested in quasi-stationarity and quasi-ergodicity when the absorbing boundary is moving. First we show that, in the moving boundary case, the quasi-stationary distribution and the quasi-limiting distribution are not well-defined…
We consider symmetric Markov chains on $\Bbb Z^d$ where we do {\bf not} assume that the conductance between two points must be zero if the points are far apart. Under a uniform second moment condition on the conductances, we obtain upper…