Related papers: Finite-state Markov Chains obey Benford's Law

We consider Markov chains that obey the following general non-linear state space model: $\Phi_{k+1} = F(\Phi_k, \alpha(\Phi_k, U_{k+1}))$ where the function $F$ is $C^1$ while $\alpha$ is typically discontinuous and $\{U_k: k \in…

Given a sequence of i.i.d. random functions $\Psi_{n}:\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R}$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, we consider the iterated function system and Markov chain which is recursively defined by $X_{0}^{x}:=x$ and…

Consider longitudinal networks whose edges turn on and off according to a discrete-time Markov chain with exponential-family transition probabilities. We characterize when their joint distributions are also exponential families with the…

Let us consider a homogeneous Markov chain with discrete time and with a finite set of states $E_0,\ldots,E_n$ such that the state $E_0$ is absorbing, states $E_1,\ldots,E_n$ are nonrecurrent. The goal of this work is to study frequencies…

Benford's law is an empirical law predicting the distribution of the first significant digits of numbers obtained from natural phenomena and mathematical tables. It has been found to be applicable for numbers coming from a plethora of…

Let {X_n,n\geq0} be a Markov chain on a general state space X with transition probability P and stationary probability \pi. Suppose an additive component S_n takes values in the real line R and is adjoined to the chain such that…

We consider irreversible Markov chains on finite commutative rings randomly generated using both addition and multiplication. We restrict ourselves to the case where the addition is uniformly random and multiplication is arbitrary. We first…

Many mathematical, man-made and natural systems exhibit a leading-digit bias, where a first digit (base 10) of 1 occurs not 11\% of the time, as one would expect if all digits were equally likely, but rather 30\%. This phenomenon is known…

We introduce simple conditions ensuring that invariant distributions of a Feller Markov chain on a compact Riemannian manifold are absolutely continuous with a lower semi-continuous, continuous or smooth density with respect to the…

Consider a Markov chain defined on a finite state space, X, that leaves invariant the uniform distribution on X, and whose transition probabilities are integer multiples of 1/Q, for some integer Q. I show how a simulation of n transitions…

Consider a sequence $P_n$ of positive recurrent transition matrices or kernels that approximate a limiting infinite state matrix or kernel $P_{\infty}$. Such approximations arise naturally when one truncates an infinite state Markov chain…

We study quasi-stationary distributions and quasi-limiting behavior of Markov chains in general reducible state spaces with absorption. We propose a set of assumptions dealing with particular situations where the state space can be…

We analyse the structure of imprecise Markov chains and study their convergence by means of accessibility relations. We first identify the sets of states, so-called minimal permanent classes, that are the minimal sets capable of containing…

We derive a sufficient condition for a $k$-th order homogeneous Markov chain $\mathbf{Z}$ with finite alphabet $\mathcal{Z}$ to have a unique invariant distribution on $\mathcal{Z}^k$. Specifically, let $\mathbf{X}$ be a first-order,…

Let $\{X_n\}$ be a stationary and ergodic time series taking values from a finite or countably infinite set ${\cal X}$. Assume that the distribution of the process is otherwise unknown. We propose a sequence of stopping times $\lambda_n$…

The stability of iterations of affine linear maps $\Psi_{n}(x)=A_{n}x+B_{n}$, $n=1,2,\ldots$, is studied in the presence of a Markovian environment, more precisely, for the situation when $(A_{n},B_{n})_{n\ge 1}$ is modulated by an ergodic…

In any Markov chain with finite state space the distribution of transition records always belongs to the exponential family. This observation is used to prove a fluctuation theorem, and to show that the dynamical entropy of a stationary…

We establish a coboundary condition for a sequence of ergodic sums (i.e.~Birkhoff partial sums) to be almost surely uniformly distributed mod $1$. Applications are given when the sequence is generated by a Gibbs-Markov map. In particular,…

A wide class of ``counting'' problems have been studied in Computer Science. Three typical examples are the estimation of - (i) the permanent of an $n\times n$ 0-1 matrix, (ii) the partition function of certain $n-$ particle Statistical…

We study a large class of reversible Markov chains with discrete state space and transition matrix $P_N$. We define the notion of a set of {\it metastable points} as a subset of the state space $\G_N$ such that (i) this set is reached from…