Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:36:18.694Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The ruin problem and cover times of asymmetric random walks and Brownian motions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2016

K. S. Chong*
Affiliation:
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Richard Cowan*
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
Lars Holst*
Affiliation:
Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
*
Postal address: Department of Statistics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong. Email address: [email protected]
∗∗ Postal address: School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Email address: [email protected]
∗∗∗ Postal address: Department of Mathematics, Royal Institute of Technology, SE 10044, Stockholm, Sweden. Email address: [email protected]

Abstract

A simple asymmetric random walk on the integers is stopped when its range is of a given length. When and where is it stopped? Analogous questions can be stated for a Brownian motion. Such problems are studied using results for the classical ruin problem, yielding results for the cover time and the range, both for asymmetric random walks and Brownian motion with drift.

Type
General Applied Probability
Copyright
Copyright © Applied Probability Trust 2000 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1] Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. (1972). Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Dover, New York.Google Scholar
[2] Aldous, D. and Fill, J. A. (1998). Reversible Markov Chains and Random Walks on Graphs. To appear.Google Scholar
[3] Billingsley, P. (1968). Convergence of Probability Measures. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
[4] Blom, G., Holst, L. and Sandell, D. (1994). Problems and Snapshots from the World of Probability. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
[5] Borodin, A. and Salminen, P. (1996). Handbook of Brownian Motion – Facts and Formulae. Birkhäuser, Basel.Google Scholar
[6] Chong, K. S. and Cowan, R. (1996). Cover times and the range of a Brownian motion. Res. Rept 123, Dept. of Statistics, University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
[7] Chong, K. S. and Cowan, R. (1997). Cover times of asymmetric random walks and Brownian motion. Res. Rept 138, Dept. of Statistics, University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
[8] Dym, H. and McKean, H. P. (1972). Fourier Series and Integrals. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
[9] Erdélyi, A., (1954) Tables of Integral Transforms, Volume I. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
[10] Feller, W. (1950). An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Applications, Volume I. 1st edn. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
[11] Feller, W. (1951). The asymptotic distribution of the range of sums of independent random variables. Ann. Math. Statist. 22, 427432.Google Scholar
[12] Feller, W. (1970). An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Applications, Vol-ume I. 3rd edn. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
[13] Girsanov, I. V. (1960). On transformation of one class of random processes with the help of absolutely continuous substitution of the measure. Teori. Veroyatn. i Primenen. V, 3, 314330.Google Scholar
[14] Hald, A. (1990). A History of Probability and Statistics and their Applications before 1750. John Wiley, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[15] Imhof, J.-P. (1985). On the range of Brownian motion and its inverse process. Ann. Prob. 13, 10111017.Google Scholar
[16] Vallois, P. (1996). The range of a simple random walk on Z. Adv. Appl. Prob. 28, 10141033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[17] Vallois, P. and Tapiero, S. (1997). Range reliability in random walks. Math. Methods Operat. Res. 45, 325345.Google Scholar