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The cover time of a Markov chain on a finite state space is the expected time until all states are visited. We show that if the cover time of a discrete-time Markov chain with rational transitions probabilities is bounded, then it is a…

Probability · Mathematics 2024-01-30 John Sylvester

Motivated by robotic surveillance applications, this paper studies the novel problem of maximizing the return time entropy of a Markov chain, subject to a graph topology with travel times and stationary distribution. The return time entropy…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-05-29 Xiaoming Duan , Mishel George , Francesco Bullo

Markov automata combine non-determinism, probabilistic branching, and exponentially distributed delays. This compositional variant of continuous-time Markov decision processes is used in reliability engineering, performance evaluation and…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2017-05-11 Tim Quatmann , Sebastian Junges , Joost-Pieter Katoen

We propose a new approach for estimating the finite dimensional transition matrix of a Markov chain using a large number of independent sample paths observed at random times. The sample paths may be observed as few as two times, and the…

Methodology · Statistics 2025-05-20 Daphne Aurouet , Valentin Patilea

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…

Probability · Mathematics 2018-08-01 F. Manzo , E. Scoppola

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…

Probability · Mathematics 2012-09-04 James Allen Fill , Vince Lyzinski

We study the computation of lower and upper probabilities of hitting a target set of states for imprecise Markov chains, where transition uncertainty is modelled by a convex set of transition matrices. In the precise case, hitting…

Probability · Mathematics 2026-03-18 Marco Sangalli , Erik Quaeghebeur , Thomas Krak

The mean time taken by an irreducible Markov chain on a finite state space to hit a target chosen at random according to the stationary distribution does not depend on the initial state of the chain. This mean time is known as Kemeny's…

Probability · Mathematics 2026-02-13 P. J. Fitzsimmons

We describe an exact approach for calculating transition probabilities and waiting times in finite-state discrete-time Markov processes. All the states and the rules for transitions between them must be known in advance. We can then…

Other Condensed Matter · Physics 2009-11-11 Semen A. Trygubenko , David J. Wales

We consider the problem of estimating the transition rate matrix of a continuous-time Markov chain from a finite-duration realisation of this process. We approach this problem in an imprecise probabilistic framework, using a set of prior…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2018-07-12 Thomas Krak , Alexander Erreygers , Jasper De Bock

We generalize the notion of strong stationary time and we give a representation formula for the hitting time to a target set in the general case of non-reversible Markov processes.

Probability · Mathematics 2016-06-24 Francesco Manzo , Elisabetta Scoppola

In this work, we study the real-time tracking and reconstruction of an information source with the purpose of actuation. A device monitors the state of the information source and transmits status updates to a receiver over a wireless…

Information Theory · Computer Science 2023-02-28 Mehrdad Salimnejad , Marios Kountouris , Nikolaos Pappas

New algorithms for computing power moments of hitting times and accumulated rewards of hitting type for semi-Markov processes. The algorithms are based on special techniques of sequential phase space reduction and recurrence relations…

Probability · Mathematics 2016-03-21 Dmitrii Silvestrov , Raimondo Manca

Hitting times provide a fundamental measure of distance in random processes, quantifying the expected number of steps for a random walk starting at node $u$ to reach node $v$. They have broad applications across domains such as network…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2025-11-07 Themistoklis Haris , Fabian Spaeh , Spyros Dragazis , Charalampos Tsourakakis

In this paper, the recurrent events that can occur more than one over the follow-up time have been modeled by phase-type distributions. We use the finite-state continuous-time Markov process with multi states for patients with recurrent…

Methodology · Statistics 2022-01-26 Roufeh Asghari , Amin Hassan Zadeh

We consider a simple but important class of metastable discrete time Markov chains, which we call perturbed Markov chains. Basically, we assume that the transition matrices depend on a parameter $\varepsilon$, and converge as $\varepsilon$.…

Probability · Mathematics 2014-12-23 Volker Betz , Stéphane Le Roux

We study perturbation theory and uniform ergodicity for discrete-time Markov chains on general state spaces in terms of the uniform moments of the first hitting times on some set. The methods we adopt are different from previous ones. For…

Probability · Mathematics 2020-03-17 Yonghua Mao , Yanhong Song

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…

Probability · Mathematics 2015-10-29 Simon Griffiths , Ross J. Kang , Roberto Imbuzeiro Oliveira , Viresh Patel

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…

Probability · Mathematics 2025-08-19 Nils Berglund

Consider a Markov chain with finite state space and suppose you wish to change time replacing the integer step index $n$ with a random counting process $N(t)$. What happens to the mixing time of the Markov chain? We present a partial reply…

Probability · Mathematics 2021-11-17 Nicos Georgiou , Enrico Scalas