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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…

Probability · Mathematics 2022-06-28 Thomas Krak

Many finite-state reversible Markov chains can be naturally decomposed into "projection" and "restriction" chains. In this paper we provide bounds on the total variation mixing times of the original chain in terms of the mixing properties…

Probability · Mathematics 2016-02-04 Natesh S. Pillai , Aaron Smith

An aperiodic and irreducible Markov chain on a finite state space converges to its stationary distribution. When convergence to equilibrium is measured by total variation distance, there exists an optimal coupling and a maximal coupling…

Probability · Mathematics 2015-04-01 Agnes Coquio

We provide new upper bounds for mixing times of general finite Markov chains. We use these bounds to show that the total variation mixing time is robust under rough isometry for bounded degree graphs that are roughly isometric to trees.

Probability · Mathematics 2017-12-06 Louigi Addario-Berry , Matthew I. Roberts

This article shows how coupled Markov chains that meet exactly after a random number of iterations can be used to generate unbiased estimators of the solutions of the Poisson equation. Through this connection, we re-derive known unbiased…

Computation · Statistics 2025-12-10 Randal Douc , Pierre E. Jacob , Anthony Lee , Dootika Vats

We use coupling to study the time taken until the distribution of a statistic on a Markov chain is close to its stationary distribution. Coupling is a common technique used to obtain upper bounds on mixing times of Markov chains, and we…

Probability · Mathematics 2019-10-09 Graham White

In this paper, we present a novel iterative Monte Carlo method for approximating the stationary probability of a single state of a positive recurrent Markov chain. We utilize the characterization that the stationary probability of a state…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2015-12-11 Christina E. Lee , Asuman Ozdaglar , Devavrat Shah

Since 1997 a considerable effort has been spent to study the mixing time of switch Markov chains on the realizations of graphic degree sequences of simple graphs. Several results were proved on rapidly mixing Markov chains on unconstrained,…

Markov chains are fundamental models for stochastic dynamics, with applications in a wide range of areas such as population dynamics, queueing systems, reinforcement learning, and Monte Carlo methods. Estimating the transition matrix and…

Statistics Theory · Mathematics 2026-01-26 Lasse Leskelä , Maximilien Dreveton

We suggest an approach to obtaining general two-sided bounds on the rate of convergence in terms of special "weighted" norms related to total variation. Some important classes of continuous-time Markov chains are considered:…

Probability · Mathematics 2015-07-15 A. Zeifman , V. Korolev

We investigate the mixing rate of a Markov chain where a combination of long distance edges and non-reversibility is introduced: as a first step, we focus here on the following graphs: starting from the cycle graph, we select random nodes…

Probability · Mathematics 2018-02-13 Balázs Gerencsér , Julien Hendrickx

We consider tilings of a closed region of the Kagome lattice (partition of the plane into regular hexagons and equilateral triangles such that each edge is shared by one triangle and one hexagon). We are interested in the rate of…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2018-01-16 Alexandra Ugolnikova

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…

Probability · Mathematics 2018-10-11 Alexander Erreygers , Jasper De Bock

Markov chains are one of the well-known tools for modeling and analyzing stochastic systems. At the same time, they are used for constructing random walks that can achieve a given stationary distribution. This paper is concerned with…

Information Theory · Computer Science 2025-01-07 Saber Jafarizadeh

We give a bound on the mixing time of a uniformly ergodic, reversible Markov chain in terms of the spectral radius of the transition operator. This bound has been established previously in finite state spaces, and is widely believed to hold…

Probability · Mathematics 2014-05-02 Dawn B. Woodard

We consider a Markov chain on $\mathbb{R}^d$ with invariant measure $\mu$. We are interested in the rate of convergence of the empirical measures towards the invariant measure with respect to various dual distances, including in particular…

Probability · Mathematics 2022-10-13 Adrian Riekert

We study time-inhomogeneous Markov chains to obtain quantitative results on their asymptotic behavior. We use Poincar\'e, Nash, and logarithmic-Sobolev inequalities. We assume that our Markov chain admits a finite invariant measure at each…

Probability · Mathematics 2024-06-25 Nordine Moumeni

Markov chain Monte Calro methods (MCMC) are commonly used in Bayesian statistics. In the last twenty years, many results have been established for the calculation of the exact convergence rate of MCMC methods. We introduce another rate of…

Statistics Theory · Mathematics 2014-02-17 Kengo Kamatani

The preparation of the stationary distribution of irreducible, time-reversible Markov chains is a fundamental building block in many heuristic approaches to algorithmically hard problems. It has been conjectured that quantum analogs of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-02-20 Vedran Dunjko , Hans J. Briegel

We define the spectral gap of a Markov chain on a finite state space as the second-smallest singular value of the generator of the chain, generalizing the usual definition of spectral gap for reversible chains. We then define the relaxation…

Probability · Mathematics 2025-01-07 Sourav Chatterjee