Introduction To Stochastic Models

An Introduction to Stochastic Modeling provides information pertinent to the standard concepts and methods of stochastic modeling. This book presents the rich diversity of applications of stochastic processes in the sciences. Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of diverse types of stochastic models, which predicts a set of possible outcomes weighed by their likelihoods or probabilities. This text then provides exercises in the applications of simple stochastic analysis to appropriate problems. Other chapters consider the study of general functions of independent, identically distributed, nonnegative random variables representing the successive intervals between renewals. This book discusses as well the numerous examples of Markov branching processes that arise naturally in various scientific disciplines. The final chapter deals with queueing models, which aid the design process by predicting system performance. This book is a valuable resource for students of engineering and management science. Engineers will also find this book useful.

Newly revised by the author, this undergraduate-level text introduces the mathematical theory of probability and stochastic processes. Using both computer simulations and mathematical models of random events, it comprises numerous applications to the physical and biological sciences, engineering, and computer science. Subjects include sample spaces, probabilities distributions and expectations of random variables, conditional expectations, Markov chains, and the Poisson process. Additional topics encompass continuous-time stochastic processes, birth and death processes, steady-state probabilities, general queuing systems, and renewal processes. Each section features worked examples, and exercises appear at the end of each chapter, with numerical solutions at the back of the book. Suggestions for further reading in stochastic processes, simulation, and various applications also appear at the end.

An Introduction to Stochastic Modeling, Revised Edition provides information pertinent to the standard concepts and methods of stochastic modeling. This book presents the rich diversity of applications of stochastic processes in the sciences. Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of diverse types of stochastic models, which predicts a set of possible outcomes weighed by their likelihoods or probabilities. This text then provides exercises in the applications of simple stochastic analysis to appropriate problems. Other chapters consider the study of general functions of independent, identically distributed, nonnegative random variables representing the successive intervals between renewals. This book discusses as well the numerous examples of Markov branching processes that arise naturally in various scientific disciplines. The final chapter deals with queueing models, which aid the design process by predicting system performance. This book is a valuable resource for students of engineering and management science. Engineers will also find this book useful.

Three coherent parts form the material covered in this text, portions of which have not been widely covered in traditional textbooks. In this coverage the reader is quickly introduced to several different topics enriched with 175 exercises which focus on real-world problems. Exercises range from the classics of probability theory to more exotic research-oriented problems based on numerical simulations. Intended for graduate students in mathematics and applied sciences, the text provides the tools and training needed to write and use programs for research purposes. The first part of the text begins with a brief review of measure theory and revisits the main concepts of probability theory, from random variables to the standard limit theorems. The second part covers traditional material on stochastic processes, including martingales, discrete-time Markov chains, Poisson processes, and continuous-time Markov chains. The theory developed is illustrated by a variety of examples surrounding applications such as the gambler’s ruin chain, branching processes, symmetric random walks, and queueing systems. The third, more research-oriented part of the text, discusses special stochastic processes of interest in physics, biology, and sociology. Additional emphasis is placed on minimal models that have been used historically to develop new mathematical techniques in the field of stochastic processes: the logistic growth process, the Wright –Fisher model, Kingman’s coalescent, percolation models, the contact process, and the voter model. Further treatment of the material explains how these special processes are connected to each other from a modeling perspective as well as their simulation capabilities in C and MatlabTM.

This book provides a self-contained review of all the relevant topics in probability theory. A software package called MAXIM, which runs on MATLAB, is made available for downloading. Vidyadhar G. Kulkarni is Professor of Operations Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Serving as the foundation for a one-semester course in stochastic processes for students familiar with elementary probability theory and calculus, Introduction to Stochastic Modeling, Fourth Edition, bridges the gap between basic probability and an intermediate level course in stochastic processes. The objectives of the text are to introduce students to the standard concepts and methods of stochastic modeling, to illustrate the rich diversity of applications of stochastic processes in the applied sciences, and to provide exercises in the application of simple stochastic analysis to realistic problems. New to this edition: Realistic applications from a variety of disciplines integrated throughout the text, including more biological applications Plentiful, completely updated problems Completely updated and reorganized end-of-chapter exercise sets, 250 exercises with answers New chapters of stochastic differential equations and Brownian motion and related processes Additional sections on Martingale and Poisson process Realistic applications from a variety of disciplines integrated throughout the text Extensive end of chapter exercises sets, 250 with answers Chapter 1-9 of the new edition are identical to the previous edition New! Chapter 10 - Random Evolutions New! Chapter 11- Characteristic functions and Their Applications

In this monograph the authors give a systematic approach to the probabilistic properties of the fixed point equation X=AX+B. A probabilistic study of the stochastic recurrence equation X_t=A_tX_{t-1}+B_t for real- and matrix-valued random variables A_t, where (A_t,B_t) constitute an iid sequence, is provided. The classical theory for these equations, including the existence and uniqueness of a stationary solution, the tail behavior with special emphasis on power law behavior, moments and support, is presented. The authors collect recent asymptotic results on extremes, point processes, partial sums (central limit theory with special emphasis on infinite variance stable limit theory), large deviations, in the univariate and multivariate cases, and they further touch on the related topics of smoothing transforms, regularly varying sequences and random iterative systems. The text gives an introduction to the Kesten-Goldie theory for stochastic recurrence equations of the type X_t=A_tX_{t-1}+B_t. It provides the classical results of Kesten, Goldie, Guivarc'h, and others, and gives an overview of recent results on the topic. It presents the state-of-the-art results in the field of affine stochastic recurrence equations and shows relations with non-affine recursions and multivariate regular variation.

Coherent introduction to techniques also offers a guide to the mathematical, numerical, and simulation tools of systems analysis. Includes formulation of models, analysis, and interpretation of results. 1995 edition.