Related papers: Note: Random-to-front shuffles on trees
We develop a general theory of Markov chains realizable as random walks on $\mathscr R$-trivial monoids. It provides explicit and simple formulas for the eigenvalues of the transition matrix, for multiplicities of the eigenvalues via…
A deck of $n$ cards are shuffled by repeatedly taking off the top card, flipping it with probability $1/2$, and inserting it back into the deck at a random position. This process can be considered as a Markov chain on the group $B_n$ of…
Random-matrix theory is applied to transition-rate matrices in the Pauli master equation. We study the distribution and correlations of eigenvalues, which govern the dynamics of complex stochastic systems. Both the cases of identical and of…
Recently Wilson [Ann. Appl. Probab. 14 (2004) 274--325] introduced an important new technique for lower bounding the mixing time of a Markov chain. In this paper we extend Wilson's technique to find lower bounds of the correct order for…
The Tsetlin library is a very well studied model for the way an arrangement of books on a library shelf evolves over time. One of the most interesting properties of this Markov chain is that its spectrum can be computed exactly and that the…
We develop a general theory for Markov chains whose transition probabilities are the coefficients of descent operators on combinatorial Hopf algebras. These model the breaking-then-recombining of combinational objects. Examples include the…
The upper extremes of a Markov chain with regulary varying stationary marginal distribution are known to exhibit under general conditions a multiplicative random walk structure called the tail chain. More generally, if the Markov chain is…
We consider Markov chains on partially ordered sets that generalize the success-runs and remaining life chains in reliability theory. We find conditions for recurrence and transience and give simple expressions for the invariant…
The rotor walk is a derandomized version of the random walk on a graph. On successive visits to any given vertex, the walker is routed to each of the neighboring vertices in some fixed cyclic order, rather than to a random sequence of…
Markov chains are a class of probabilistic models that have achieved widespread application in the quantitative sciences. This is in part due to their versatility, but is compounded by the ease with which they can be probed analytically.…
A Markov tree is a random vector indexed by the nodes of a tree whose distribution is determined by the distributions of pairs of neighbouring variables and a list of conditional independence relations. Upon an assumption on the tails of…
We study Markov chains on a lattice in a codimension-one stratified independent random environment, exploiting results established in [2]. First of all the random walk is transient in dimension at least three. Focusing on dimension two,…
The extremes of a univariate Markov chain with regulary varying stationary marginal distribution and asymptotically linear behavior are known to exhibit a multiplicative random walk structure called the tail chain. In this paper, we extend…
We show that the transience or recurrence of a random walk in certain random environments on an arbitrary infinite locally finite tree is determined by the branching number of the tree, which is a measure of the average number of branches…
A switching random walk, commonly known under the misnomer `oscillating random walk', is a real-valued Markov chain whose distribution of increments is determined by the sign of the current position. We explicitly identify an invariant…
We discuss a notion of shuffle for trees which extends the usual notion of a shuffle for two natural numbers. We give several equivalent descriptions, and prove some algebraic and combinatorial properties. In addition, we characterize…
Consider a randomly shuffled deck of $2n$ cards with $n$ red cards and $n$ black cards. We study the average number of moves it takes to go from a randomly shuffled deck to a deck that alternates in color by performing the following move:…
Many seemingly disparate Markov chains are unified when viewed as random walks on the set of chambers of a hyperplane arrangement. These include the Tsetlin library of theoretical computer science and various shuffling schemes. If only…
The number of ``carries'' when $n$ random integers are added forms a Markov chain [23]. We show that this Markov chain has the same transition matrix as the descent process when a deck of $n$ cards is repeatedly riffle shuffled. This gives…
Random walks are a fundamental model in applied mathematics and are a common example of a Markov chain. The limiting stationary distribution of the Markov chain represents the fraction of the time spent in each state during the stochastic…