Related papers: Tight Markov chains and random compositions

Consider a discrete time, ergodic Markov chain with finite state space which is started from stationarity. Fill and Lyzinski (2014) showed that, in some cases, the hitting time for a given state may be represented as a sum of a geometric…

Given an irreducible discrete-time Markov chain on a finite state space, we consider the largest expected hitting time $T(\alpha)$ of a set of stationary measure at least $\alpha$ for $\alpha\in(0,1)$. We obtain tight inequalities among the…

Consider a sequence of continuous-time irreducible reversible Markov chains and a sequence of initial distributions, $\mu_n$. The sequence is said to exhibit $\mu_n$-cutoff if the convergence to stationarity in total variation distance is…

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 $\lambda_n$…

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…

Assume that one observes the $k$th, $2k$th$,\ldots,nk$th value of a Markov chain $X_{1,h},\ldots,X_{nk,h}$. That means we assume that a high frequency Markov chain runs in the background on a very fine time grid but that it is only observed…

We consider continuous-space, discrete-time Markov chains on $\mathbb{R}^d$, that admit a finite number $N$ of metastable states. Our main motivation for investigating these processes is to analyse random Poincar\'e maps, which describe…

An (upward) skip-free Markov chain with the set of nonnegative integers as state space is a chain for which upward jumps may be only of unit size; there is no restriction on downward jumps. In a 1987 paper, Brown and Shao determined, for an…

In the present paper we show that for any given digraph $\mathbb{G} =([n], \vec{E})$, i.e. an oriented graph without self-loops and 2-cycles, one can construct a 1-dependent Markov chain and $n$ identically distributed hitting times $T_1,…

Given a reversible Markov chain $P_n$ on $n$ states, and another chain $\tilde{P}_n$ obtained by perturbing each row of $P_n$ by at most $\alpha_n$ in total variation, we study the total variation distance between the two stationary…

Approximating the stationary probability of a state in a Markov chain through Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques is, in general, inefficient. Standard random walk approaches require $\tilde{O}(\tau/\pi(v))$ operations to approximate the…

Let $(X_n \colon n\in\Z)$ be a two-sided recurrent Markov chain with fixed initial state $X_0$ and let $\nu$ be a probability measure on its state space. We give a necessary and sufficient criterion for the existence of a non-randomized…

We study the problem of characterizing the expected hitting times for a robust generalization of continuous-time Markov chains. This generalization is based on the theory of imprecise probabilities, and the models with which we work…

Imprecise continuous-time Markov chains are a robust type of continuous-time Markov chains that allow for partially specified time-dependent parameters. Computing inferences for them requires the solution of a non-linear differential…

The distribution of the "mixing time" or the "time to stationarity" in a discrete time irreducible Markov chain, starting in state i, can be defined as the number of trials to reach a state sampled from the stationary distribution of the…

Perturbation theory for Markov chains addresses the question how small differences in the transitions of Markov chains are reflected in differences between their distributions. We prove powerful and flexible bounds on the distance of the…

In the setting of non-reversible Markov chains on finite or countable state space, exact results on the distribution of the first hitting time to a given set $G$ are obtained. A new notion of "strong metastability time" is introduced to…

Let $X_n$ be a discrete time Markov chain with state space $S$ (countably infinite, in general) and initial probability distribution $\mu^{(0)} = (P(X_0=i_1),P(X_0=i_2),\cdots,)$. What is the probability of choosing in random some $k \in…

In this paper we consider the field of local times of a discrete-time Markov chain on a general state space, and obtain uniform (in time) upper bounds on the total variation distance between this field and the one of a sequence of $n$…

We develop a systematic matrix-analytic approach, based on intertwinings of Markov semigroups, for proving theorems about hitting-time distributions for finite-state Markov chains -- an approach that (sometimes) deepens understanding of the…