Mathematical Models Of Information And Stochastic Systems

From ancient soothsayers and astrologists to today’s pollsters and economists, probability theory has long been used to predict the future on the basis of past and present knowledge. Mathematical Models of Information and Stochastic Systems shows that the amount of knowledge about a system plays an important role in the mathematical models used to foretell the future of the system. It explains how this known quantity of information is used to derive a system’s probabilistic properties. After an introduction, the book presents several basic principles that are employed in the remainder of the text to develop useful examples of probability theory. It examines both discrete and continuous distribution functions and random variables, followed by a chapter on the average values, correlations, and covariances of functions of variables as well as the probabilistic mathematical model of quantum mechanics. The author then explores the concepts of randomness and entropy and derives various discrete probabilities and continuous probability density functions from what is known about a particular stochastic system. The final chapters discuss information of discrete and continuous systems, time-dependent stochastic processes, data analysis, and chaotic systems and fractals. By building a range of probability distributions based on prior knowledge of the problem, this classroom-tested text illustrates how to predict the behavior of diverse systems. A solutions manual is available for qualifying instructors.

This unique two-volume set presents the subjects of stochastic processes, information theory, and Lie groups in a unified setting, thereby building bridges between fields that are rarely studied by the same people. Unlike the many excellent formal treatments available for each of these subjects individually, the emphasis in both of these volumes is on the use of stochastic, geometric, and group-theoretic concepts in the modeling of physical phenomena. Stochastic Models, Information Theory, and Lie Groups will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and practitioners working in applied mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering. Extensive exercises and motivating examples make the work suitable as a textbook for use in courses that emphasize applied stochastic processes or differential geometry.

In this monograph stochastic models of systems analysis are discussed. It covers many aspects and different stages from the construction of mathematical models of real systems, through mathematical analysis of models based on simplification methods, to the interpretation of real stochastic systems. The stochastic models described here share the property that their evolutionary aspects develop under the influence of random factors. It has been assumed that the evolution takes place in a random medium, i.e. unilateral interaction between the system and the medium. As only Markovian models of random medium are considered in this book, the stochastic models described here are determined by two processes, a switching process describing the evolution of the systems and a switching process describing the changes of the random medium. Audience: This book will be of interest to postgraduate students and researchers whose work involves probability theory, stochastic processes, mathematical systems theory, ordinary differential equations, operator theory, or mathematical modelling and industrial mathematics.

This book introduces mathematicians to the fascinating mathematical interplay between ideas from stochastics and information theory and practical issues in studying complex multiscale nonlinear systems. It emphasizes the serendipity between modern applied mathematics and applications where rigorous analysis, the development of qualitative and/or asymptotic models, and numerical modeling all interact to explain complex phenomena. After a brief introduction to the emerging issues in multiscale modeling, the book has three main chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to information theory with novel applications to statistical mechanics, predictability, and Jupiter's Red Spot for geophysical flows. The second chapter discusses new mathematical issues regarding fluctuation-dissipation theorems for complex nonlinear systems including information flow, various approximations, and illustrates applications to various mathematical models. The third chapter discusses stochastic modeling of complex nonlinear systems. After a general discussion, a new elementary model, motivated by issues in climate dynamics, is utilized to develop a self-contained example of stochastic mode reduction. Based on A. Majda's Aisenstadt lectures at the University of Montreal, the book is appropriate for both pure and applied mathematics graduate students, postdocs and faculty, as well as interested researchers in other scientific disciplines. No background in geophysical flows is required. About the authors: Andrew Majda is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous honors and awards, including the National Academy of Science Prize in Applied Mathematics, the John von Neumann Prize of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Gibbs Prize of the American Mathematical Society, and the Medal of the College de France. In the past several years at the Courant Institute, Majda and a multi-disciplinary faculty have created the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science to promote cross-disciplinary research with modern applied mathematics in climate modeling and prediction. R.V. Abramov is a young researcher; he received his PhD in 2002. M. J. Grote received his Ph.D. under Joseph B. Keller at Stanford University in 1995.

This book presents a treatise on the theory and modeling of second-order stationary processes, including an exposition on selected application areas that are important in the engineering and applied sciences. The foundational issues regarding stationary processes dealt with in the beginning of the book have a long history, starting in the 1940s with the work of Kolmogorov, Wiener, Cramér and his students, in particular Wold, and have since been refined and complemented by many others. Problems concerning the filtering and modeling of stationary random signals and systems have also been addressed and studied, fostered by the advent of modern digital computers, since the fundamental work of R.E. Kalman in the early 1960s. The book offers a unified and logically consistent view of the subject based on simple ideas from Hilbert space geometry and coordinate-free thinking. In this framework, the concepts of stochastic state space and state space modeling, based on the notion of the conditional independence of past and future flows of the relevant signals, are revealed to be fundamentally unifying ideas. The book, based on over 30 years of original research, represents a valuable contribution that will inform the fields of stochastic modeling, estimation, system identification, and time series analysis for decades to come. It also provides the mathematical tools needed to grasp and analyze the structures of algorithms in stochastic systems theory.

This unique two-volume set presents the subjects of stochastic processes, information theory, and Lie groups in a unified setting, thereby building bridges between fields that are rarely studied by the same people. Unlike the many excellent formal treatments available for each of these subjects individually, the emphasis in both of these volumes is on the use of stochastic, geometric, and group-theoretic concepts in the modeling of physical phenomena. Stochastic Models, Information Theory, and Lie Groups will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and practitioners working in applied mathematics, the physical sciences, and engineering. Extensive exercises, motivating examples, and real-world applications make the work suitable as a textbook for use in courses that emphasize applied stochastic processes or differential geometry.

Complex stochastic systems comprises a vast area of research, from modelling specific applications to model fitting, estimation procedures, and computing issues. The exponential growth in computing power over the last two decades has revolutionized statistical analysis and led to rapid developments and great progress in this emerging field. In Complex Stochastic Systems, leading researchers address various statistical aspects of the field, illustrated by some very concrete applications. A Primer on Markov Chain Monte Carlo by Peter J. Green provides a wide-ranging mixture of the mathematical and statistical ideas, enriched with concrete examples and more than 100 references. Causal Inference from Graphical Models by Steffen L. Lauritzen explores causal concepts in connection with modelling complex stochastic systems, with focus on the effect of interventions in a given system. State Space and Hidden Markov Models by Hans R. Künschshows the variety of applications of this concept to time series in engineering, biology, finance, and geophysics. Monte Carlo Methods on Genetic Structures by Elizabeth A. Thompson investigates special complex systems and gives a concise introduction to the relevant biological methodology. Renormalization of Interacting Diffusions by Frank den Hollander presents recent results on the large space-time behavior of infinite systems of interacting diffusions. Stein's Method for Epidemic Processes by Gesine Reinert investigates the mean field behavior of a general stochastic epidemic with explicit bounds. Individually, these articles provide authoritative, tutorial-style exposition and recent results from various subjects related to complex stochastic systems. Collectively, they link these separate areas of study to form the first comprehensive overview of this rapidly developing field.

"Constructive Computation in Stochastic Models with Applications: The RG-Factorizations" provides a unified, constructive and algorithmic framework for numerical computation of many practical stochastic systems. It summarizes recent important advances in computational study of stochastic models from several crucial directions, such as stationary computation, transient solution, asymptotic analysis, reward processes, decision processes, sensitivity analysis as well as game theory. Graduate students, researchers and practicing engineers in the field of operations research, management sciences, applied probability, computer networks, manufacturing systems, transportation systems, insurance and finance, risk management and biological sciences will find this book valuable. Dr. Quan-Lin Li is an Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering of Tsinghua University, China.