Discrete Probability And Algorithms

Discrete probability theory and the theory of algorithms have become close partners over the last ten years, though the roots of this partnership go back much longer. The papers in this volume address the latest developments in this active field. They are from the IMA Workshops "Probability and Algorithms" and "The Finite Markov Chain Renaissance." They represent the current thinking of many of the world's leading experts in the field. Researchers and graduate students in probability, computer science, combinatorics, and optimization theory will all be interested in this collection of articles. The techniques developed and surveyed in this volume are still undergoing rapid development, and many of the articles of the collection offer an expositionally pleasant entree into a research area of growing importance.

This title organizes computational probability methods into a systematic treatment. The book examines two categories of problems. "Algorithms for Continuous Random Variables" covers data structures and algorithms, transformations of random variables, and products of independent random variables. "Algorithms for Discrete Random Variables" discusses data structures and algorithms, sums of independent random variables, and order statistics.

Leave nothing to chance. This cliche embodies the common belief that ran domness has no place in carefully planned methodologies, every step should be spelled out, each i dotted and each t crossed. In discrete mathematics at least, nothing could be further from the truth. Introducing random choices into algorithms can improve their performance. The application of proba bilistic tools has led to the resolution of combinatorial problems which had resisted attack for decades. The chapters in this volume explore and celebrate this fact. Our intention was to bring together, for the first time, accessible discus sions of the disparate ways in which probabilistic ideas are enriching discrete mathematics. These discussions are aimed at mathematicians with a good combinatorial background but require only a passing acquaintance with the basic definitions in probability (e.g. expected value, conditional probability). A reader who already has a firm grasp on the area will be interested in the original research, novel syntheses, and discussions of ongoing developments scattered throughout the book. Some of the most convincing demonstrations of the power of these tech niques are randomized algorithms for estimating quantities which are hard to compute exactly. One example is the randomized algorithm of Dyer, Frieze and Kannan for estimating the volume of a polyhedron. To illustrate these techniques, we consider a simple related problem. Suppose S is some region of the unit square defined by a system of polynomial inequalities: Pi (x. y) ~ o.

Randomization and probabilistic techniques play an important role in modern computer science, with applications ranging from combinatorial optimization and machine learning to communication networks and secure protocols. This 2005 textbook is designed to accompany a one- or two-semester course for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in computer science and applied mathematics. It gives an excellent introduction to the probabilistic techniques and paradigms used in the development of probabilistic algorithms and analyses. It assumes only an elementary background in discrete mathematics and gives a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the material, with numerous examples and applications. The first half of the book covers core material, including random sampling, expectations, Markov's inequality, Chevyshev's inequality, Chernoff bounds, the probabilistic method and Markov chains. The second half covers more advanced topics such as continuous probability, applications of limited independence, entropy, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and balanced allocations. With its comprehensive selection of topics, along with many examples and exercises, this book is an indispensable teaching tool.

Randomization and probabilistic techniques play an important role in modern computer science, with applications ranging from combinatorial optimization and machine learning to communication networks and secure protocols. This 2005 textbook is designed to accompany a one- or two-semester course for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in computer science and applied mathematics. It gives an excellent introduction to the probabilistic techniques and paradigms used in the development of probabilistic algorithms and analyses. It assumes only an elementary background in discrete mathematics and gives a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the material, with numerous examples and applications. The first half of the book covers core material, including random sampling, expectations, Markov's inequality, Chevyshev's inequality, Chernoff bounds, the probabilistic method and Markov chains. The second half covers more advanced topics such as continuous probability, applications of limited independence, entropy, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and balanced allocations. With its comprehensive selection of topics, along with many examples and exercises, this book is an indispensable teaching tool.

This book contains eleven articles surveying emerging topics in discrete probability. The papers are based on talks given by experts at the DIMACS "Microsurveys in Discrete Probability" workshop held at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ, in 1997. This compilation of current research in discrete probability provides a unique overview that is not available elsewhere in book or survey form. Topics covered in the volume include: Markov chains (pefect sampling, coupling from the past, mixing times), random trees (spanning trees on infinite graphs, enumeration of trees and forests, tree-valued Markov chains), distributional estimates (method of bounded differences, Stein-Chen method for normal approximation), dynamical percolation, Poisson processes, and reconstructing random walk from scenery.

This new edition includes the latest advances and developments in computational probability involving A Probability Programming Language (APPL). The book examines and presents, in a systematic manner, computational probability methods that encompass data structures and algorithms. The developed techniques address problems that require exact probability calculations, many of which have been considered intractable in the past. The book addresses the plight of the probabilist by providing algorithms to perform calculations associated with random variables. Computational Probability: Algorithms and Applications in the Mathematical Sciences, 2nd Edition begins with an introductory chapter that contains short examples involving the elementary use of APPL. Chapter 2 reviews the Maple data structures and functions necessary to implement APPL. This is followed by a discussion of the development of the data structures and algorithms (Chapters 3–6 for continuous random variables and Chapters 7–9 for discrete random variables) used in APPL. The book concludes with Chapters 10–15 introducing a sampling of various applications in the mathematical sciences. This book should appeal to researchers in the mathematical sciences with an interest in applied probability and instructors using the book for a special topics course in computational probability taught in a mathematics, statistics, operations research, management science, or industrial engineering department.

Randomization and probabilistic techniques play an important role in modern computer science, with applications ranging from combinatorial optimization and machine learning to communication networks and secure protocols. This textbook is designed to accompany a one- or two-semester course for advanced undergraduates or beginning graduate students in computer science and applied mathematics. It gives an excellent introduction to the probabilistic techniques and paradigms used in the development of probabilistic algorithms and analyses. It assumes only an elementary background in discrete mathematics and gives a rigorous yet accessible treatment of the material, with numerous examples and applications. The first half of the book covers core material, including random sampling, expectations, Markov's inequality, Chevyshev's inequality, Chernoff bounds, balls and bins models, the probabilistic method, and Markov chains. In the second half, the authors delve into more advanced topics such as continuous probability, applications of limited independence, entropy, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, coupling, martingales, and balanced allocations. With its comprehensive selection of topics, along with many examples and exercises, this book is an indispensable teaching tool.