Markov Set Chains

In this study extending classical Markov chain theory to handle fluctuating transition matrices, the author develops a theory of Markov set-chains and provides numerous examples showing how that theory can be applied. Chapters are concluded with a discussion of related research. Readers who can benefit from this monograph are those interested in, or involved with, systems whose data is imprecise or that fluctuate with time. A background equivalent to a course in linear algebra and one in probability theory should be sufficient.

Markov chains are central to the understanding of random processes. This is not only because they pervade the applications of random processes, but also because one can calculate explicitly many quantities of interest. This textbook, aimed at advanced undergraduate or MSc students with some background in basic probability theory, focuses on Markov chains and quickly develops a coherent and rigorous theory whilst showing also how actually to apply it. Both discrete-time and continuous-time chains are studied. A distinguishing feature is an introduction to more advanced topics such as martingales and potentials in the established context of Markov chains. There are applications to simulation, economics, optimal control, genetics, queues and many other topics, and exercises and examples drawn both from theory and practice. It will therefore be an ideal text either for elementary courses on random processes or those that are more oriented towards applications.

This book covers the classical theory of Markov chains on general state-spaces as well as many recent developments. The theoretical results are illustrated by simple examples, many of which are taken from Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. The book is self-contained, while all the results are carefully and concisely proven. Bibliographical notes are added at the end of each chapter to provide an overview of the literature. Part I lays the foundations of the theory of Markov chain on general states-space. Part II covers the basic theory of irreducible Markov chains on general states-space, relying heavily on regeneration techniques. These two parts can serve as a text on general state-space applied Markov chain theory. Although the choice of topics is quite different from what is usually covered, where most of the emphasis is put on countable state space, a graduate student should be able to read almost all these developments without any mathematical background deeper than that needed to study countable state space (very little measure theory is required). Part III covers advanced topics on the theory of irreducible Markov chains. The emphasis is on geometric and subgeometric convergence rates and also on computable bounds. Some results appeared for a first time in a book and others are original. Part IV are selected topics on Markov chains, covering mostly hot recent developments.

Meyn and Tweedie is back! The bible on Markov chains in general state spaces has been brought up to date to reflect developments in the field since 1996 - many of them sparked by publication of the first edition. The pursuit of more efficient simulation algorithms for complex Markovian models, or algorithms for computation of optimal policies for controlled Markov models, has opened new directions for research on Markov chains. As a result, new applications have emerged across a wide range of topics including optimisation, statistics, and economics. New commentary and an epilogue by Sean Meyn summarise recent developments and references have been fully updated. This second edition reflects the same discipline and style that marked out the original and helped it to become a classic: proofs are rigorous and concise, the range of applications is broad and knowledgeable, and key ideas are accessible to practitioners with limited mathematical background.

Besides the investigation of general chains the book contains chapters which are concerned with eigenvalue techniques, conductance, stopping times, the strong Markov property, couplings, strong uniform times, Markov chains on arbitrary finite groups (including a crash-course in harmonic analysis), random generation and counting, Markov random fields, Gibbs fields, the Metropolis sampler, and simulated annealing. With 170 exercises.

A long time ago I started writing a book about Markov chains, Brownian motion, and diffusion. I soon had two hundred pages of manuscript and my publisher was enthusiastic. Some years and several drafts later, I had a thousand pages of manuscript, and my publisher was less enthusiastic. So we made it a trilogy: Markov Chains Brownian Motion and Diffusion Approximating Countable Markov Chains familiarly - MC, B & D, and ACM. I wrote the first two books for beginning graduate students with some knowledge of probability; if you can follow Sections 10.4 to 10.9 of Markov Chains you're in. The first two books are quite independent of one another, and completely independent of the third. This last book is a monograph which explains one way to think about chains with instantaneous states. The results in it are supposed to be new, except where there are specific disclaim ers; it's written in the framework of Markov Chains. Most of the proofs in the trilogy are new, and I tried hard to make them explicit. The old ones were often elegant, but I seldom saw what made them go. With my own, I can sometimes show you why things work. And, as I will VB1 PREFACE argue in a minute, my demonstrations are easier technically. If I wrote them down well enough, you may come to agree.

Markov chains are central to the understanding of random processes. This is not only because they pervade the applications of random processes, but also because one can calculate explicitly many quantities of interest. This textbook, aimed at advanced undergraduate or MSc students with some background in basic probability theory, focuses on Markov chains and quickly develops a coherent and rigorous theory whilst showing also how actually to apply it. Both discrete-time and continuous-time chains are studied. A distinguishing feature is an introduction to more advanced topics such as martingales and potentials in the established context of Markov chains. There are applications to simulation, economics, optimal control, genetics, queues and many other topics, and exercises and examples drawn both from theory and practice. It will therefore be an ideal text either for elementary courses on random processes or those that are more oriented towards applications.

With the first edition out of print, we decided to arrange for republi cation of Denumerrible Markov Ohains with additional bibliographic material. The new edition contains a section Additional Notes that indicates some of the developments in Markov chain theory over the last ten years. As in the first edition and for the same reasons, we have resisted the temptation to follow the theory in directions that deal with uncountable state spaces or continuous time. A section entitled Additional References complements the Additional Notes. J. W. Pitman pointed out an error in Theorem 9-53 of the first edition, which we have corrected. More detail about the correction appears in the Additional Notes. Aside from this change, we have left intact the text of the first eleven chapters. The second edition contains a twelfth chapter, written by David Griffeath, on Markov random fields. We are grateful to Ted Cox for his help in preparing this material. Notes for the chapter appear in the section Additional Notes. J.G.K., J.L.S., A.W.K.