Related papers: Surprise probabilities in Markov chains
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…
Consider the real Markov walk $S_n = X_1+ \dots+ X_n$ with increments $\left(X_n\right)_{n\geq 1}$ defined by a stochastic recursion starting at $X_0=x$. For a starting point $y>0$ denote by $\tau_y$ the exit time of the process $\left(…
We consider the random walk on the hypercube which moves by picking an ordered pair $(i,j)$ of distinct coordinates uniformly at random and adding the bit at location $i$ to the bit at location $j$, modulo $2$. We show that this Markov…
We obtain upper bounds (in most cases, sharp) for the hitting times of random walks on finite undirected graphs expressed as functions of the graph's number of edges. In particular, we show that the maximum hitting time for a simple random…
General characterizations of ergodic Markov chains have been developed in considerable detail. In this paper, we study the transience for discrete-time Markov chains on general state spaces, including the geometric transience and algebraic…
We consider the problem of detecting a random walk on a graph, based on observations of the graph nodes. When visited by the walk, each node of the graph observes a signal of elevated mean, which we assume can be different across different…
Given a sequence $(\mathfrak{X}_i, \mathscr{K}_i)_{i=1}^\infty$ of Markov chains, the cut-off phenomenon describes a period of transition to stationarity which is asymptotically lower order than the mixing time. We study mixing times and…
We consider a certain sequence of random walks. The state space of the n-th random walk is the set of all strict partitions of n (that is, partitions without equal parts). We prove that, as n goes to infinity, these random walks converge to…
Consider a system of coalescing random walks where each individual performs random walk over a finite graph G, or (more generally) evolves according to some reversible Markov chain generator Q. Let C be the first time at which all walkers…
Necessary and sufficient conditions for a Markov chain to be ergodic are that the chain is irreducible and aperiodic. This result is manifest in the case of random walks on finite groups by a statement about the support of the driving…
We consider finite-state time-nonhomogeneous Markov chains where the probability of moving from state $i$ to state $j\neq i$ at time $n$ is $G(i,j)/n^\zeta$ for a ``generator'' matrix $G$ and strength parameter $\zeta>0$. In these chains,…
We consider two types of discrete-time Markov chains where the state space is a graded poset and the transitions are taken along the covering relations in the poset. The first type of Markov chain goes only in one direction, either up or…
Establishing cutoff, an abrupt transition from "not mixed" to "well mixed", is a classical topic in the theory of mixing times for Markov chains. Interest has grown recently in determining not only the existence of cutoff and the order of…
We propose a model of random walks on weighted graphs where the weights are interval valued, and connect it to reversible imprecise Markov chains. While the theory of imprecise Markov chains is now well established, this is a first attempt…
Random walks on expanders play a crucial role in Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms, derandomization, graph theory, and distributed computing. A desirable property is that they are rapidly mixing, which is equivalent to having a spectral…
Let $G$ be a Cayley graph of a nonamenable group with spectral radius $\rho < 1$. It is known that branching random walk on $G$ with offspring distribution $\mu$ is transient, i.e., visits the origin at most finitely often almost surely, if…
The aim of this note is to construct a probability measure on the space of trajectories in a continuous time Markov chain having a finite state diagram, or more generally which admits a global bound on its degree and rates. Our approach is…
We give sharp, uniform estimates for the probability that a random walk of n steps on the reals avoids a half-line [y,infinity) given that it ends at the point x. The estimates hold for general continuous or lattice distributions provided…
How fast a state of a system converges to a stationary state is one of the fundamental questions in science. Some Markov chains and random walks on finite groups are known to exhibit the non-asymptotic convergence to a stationary…
The partially asymmetric exclusion process (PASEP) is an important model from statistical mechanics which describes a system of interacting particles hopping left and right on a one-dimensional lattice of N sites. It is partially asymmetric…