Random walks EPFL - Spring Semester 2014-2015 Graded Homework 4: due Thursday, March 26, at 8:15 AM Exercise 1. Let (Xn , n ≥ 0) be a time-homogeneous Markov chain on S = {1, 2, 3, . . .} with transition probabilities: if j = 2i, pi pij = P(Xn+1 = j|Xn = i) = 1 − pi , if j = 1, 0 otherwise. where 0 < pi < 1 are arbitrary numbers in general (note in particular that we do not ask that P i≥1 pi = 1). Let us start with the simple case where pi ≡ c for some 0 < c < 1. a) Which states are transient, which are mull-recurrent, which are positive-recurrent? Justify your answer! b) Does the chain admit a stationary distribution? If yes, compute it! Assume now that pi = 1 − 1 i+1 for i ≥ 1. c) Does the chain admit a stationary distribution in this case? If yes, compute it! Finally, in the general case: d) Find an optimal condition on the numbers pi ensuring the existence (and uniqueness) of a stationary distribution. Exercise P 2. a) Let P µ and ν be two distributions on a state space S (i.e., µi , νi ≥ 0 for every i ∈ S and i∈S µi = i∈S νi = 1). Show that the following three definitions of the total variation distance between µ and ν are equivalent: 1. kµ − νkTV = 1 2 X |µi − νi |. i∈S 2. kµ − νkTV = max |µ(A) − ν(A)|, where µ(A) = A⊂S 3. kµ − νkTV = 1 2 max P i∈A µi |µ(φ) − ν(φ)|, where µ(φ) = φ:S→[−1,+1] and ν(A) = P i∈S P i∈A νi . µi φi and ν(φ) = P i∈S νi φi . Hint: The easiest way is to show that 1 ≤ 2 ≤ 3 ≤ 1. b) Show that kµ − νkTV is indeed a distance (i.e., that it is non-negative, that it is zero if and only if µ = ν, that it is symmetric and that the triangle inequality is satisfied). % please turn the page 1 Exercise 3. A complete graph Km with m vertices is a graph with one edge between all pairs of vertices. We consider the homogeneous random walk (Xn , n ≥ 0) on Km defined by the transition (n) probability P(Xn+1 = j|Xn = i) = 1/(m − 1) for all vertices j 6= i. We also denote by µi = P(Xn = i), i ∈ Km the probability distribution of a random walk at time n with initial condition (n) X0 = i0 and by νj = P(Yn = j), j ∈ Km the probability distribution of another independent random walk with initial condition Y0 = j0 . The two initial vertices are fixed once for all and distinct, i0 6= j0 . We now define the following homogeneous Markov process Km × Km and transition probabilities 1 (m−1)2 0 0 1 P(Xn+1 = i , Yn+1 = j |Xn = i, Yn = j) = m−1 0 ((Xn , Yn ), n ≥ 0) with state space if i 6= j andi0 6= i, j 0 6= j, if j = i and j 0 = i0 6= i, in all other cases. It is understood that this Markov process is conditioned on the initial condition (X0 , Y0 ) = (i0 , j0 ). a) Show that (Xn , Yn ) is a coupling of the two probability distributions µ(n) and ν (n) . Hint: Recall the definition of coupling; you have to compute the marginals of P(Xn = i, Yn = j). b) Consider the coalescence time T = inf{n ≥ 1 | Xn = Yn } (a random variable). First show that for all n ≥ 1: (m − 2) n P(T > n) = 1 − (m − 1)2 and deduce from there that for all n ≥ 1: m−2 P(T = n) = (m − 1)2 (m − 2) n−1 1− (m − 1)2 Hint: rewrite the events {T > n} and {T = n} in terms of the X’s and Y ’s. c) Consider the total variation distance kµ(n) − ν (n) kTV . Use the formula in point 1 of exercise 2 to show that n(m−2) − kµ(n) − ν (n) kTV ≤ e (m−1)2 Hint: 1 − x ≤ e−x for all x ≥ 0. d) We remark that πi? = 1/m, i ∈ Km is a stationary distribution for the lazy random walk on the complete graph. Justify this remark. Use this remark and the previous bound to deduce kµ(n) − π ∗ kTV ≤ e e) What happens in the (very) particular case m = 2? 2 − n(m−2) (m−1)2
© Copyright 2024