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Markov Chains

Gibbs Fields, Monte Carlo Simulation and Queues

Authors:

  • Thoroughly revises and updates the 1st edition, making it a completely self-contained textbook on Markov chains and stochastic processes
  • Includes material for basic and advanced courses on Markov Chains, with complementary material on continuous-time Markov chains and Markovian queueing theory
  • Improves reader-friendliness by including: a shared numbering system for the definitions, theorems and examples; titles for the examples and exercises; blue highlighting of important terms

Part of the book series: Texts in Applied Mathematics (TAM, volume 31)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. Probability Review

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 1-62
  3. Discrete-Time Markov Chains

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 63-109
  4. Recurrence and Ergodicity

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 111-144
  5. Long-Run Behavior

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 145-169
  6. Discrete-Time Renewal Theory

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 171-186
  7. Absorption and Passage Times

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 187-225
  8. Lyapunov Functions and Martingales

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 227-254
  9. Random Walks on Graphs

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 255-287
  10. Convergence Rates

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 289-329
  11. Markov Fields on Graphs

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 331-367
  12. Monte Carlo Markov Chains

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 369-398
  13. Non-homogeneous Markov Chains

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 399-422
  14. Continuous-Time Markov Chains

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 423-489
  15. Markovian Queueing Theory

    • Pierre Brémaud
    Pages 491-526
  16. Back Matter

    Pages 527-557

About this book

This 2nd edition is a thoroughly revised and augmented version of the book with the same title published in 1999. The author begins with the elementary theory of Markov chains and very progressively brings the reader to more advanced topics. He gives a useful review of probability, making the book self-contained, and provides an appendix with detailed proofs of all the prerequisites from calculus, algebra, and number theory. A number of carefully chosen problems of varying difficulty are proposed at the close of each chapter, and the mathematics is slowly and carefully developed, in order to make self-study easier. The book treats the classical topics of Markov chain theory, both in discrete time and continuous time, as well as connected topics such as finite Gibbs fields, nonhomogeneous Markov chains, discrete-time regenerative processes, Monte Carlo simulation, simulated annealing, and queuing theory.

The main additions of the 2nd edition are the exact sampling algorithm of Propp and Wilson, the electrical network analogy of symmetric random walks on graphs, mixing times and additional details on the branching process. The structure of the book has been modified in order to smoothly incorporate this new material. Among the features that should improve reader-friendliness, the three main ones are: a shared numbering system for the definitions, theorems and examples; the attribution of titles to the examples and exercises; and the blue highlighting of important terms. The result is an up-to-date textbook on stochastic processes.

Students and researchers in operations research and electrical engineering, as well as in physics and biology, will find it very accessible and relevant.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Paris, France

    Pierre Brémaud

About the author

Pierre Brémaud graduated from the École Polytechnique and obtained his Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Paris VI and his PhD from the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a major contributor to the theory of stochastic processes and their applications, and has authored or co-authored several reference books and textbooks. 

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 29.99 USD 49.99
40% discount Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 39.99 USD 64.99
38% discount Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 39.99 USD 64.99
38% discount Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access