A new burn-in procedure for a repairable component is proposed. During a burn-in period, the failed component is only minimally repaired rather than being completely repaired. This procedure is shown to be economical and efficient when the minimal repair method is applicable during a burn-in process. The properties of the optimal burn-in time b∗ and block replacement policy T∗ are also given.

Using the theory of point processes, we give a formal treatment to queueing processes in the steady state. Based on this result, we obtain invariance relations between several quantities in G/G/c queues. As applications, the finiteness of their moments is discussed for G/G′/c queues. The basic results and notations used in this paper are contained in the author's previous paper (Miyazawa (1977)).

In this note we deal with the allocation of independent and identical active redundancies to a k-out-of-n system with the usual stochastic order among its independent components. The optimal policy is proved both to assign more redundancies to the weaker component and to majorize all other policies. This improves the corresponding one in Hu and Wang (2009) and serves as a nice supplement to that in Misra, Dhariyal and Gupta (2009) as well.

Classical results describe the asymptotic behaviour of a Galton–Watson branching process conditioned on non-extinction. We give new proofs of limit theorems in critical and subcritical cases. The proofs are based on the representation of conditioned Galton–Watson generation sizes as a sum of independent increments which is derived from the decomposition of the conditioned Galton–Watson family tree along the line of descent of the left-most particle.

A survey is made of the mathematical properties of, and the arithmetic relationships between, various distributions on the circle and the sphere. The Brownian motion and angular Gaussian distributions are shown in computer-drawn graphs to bracket the von Mises–Fisher distributions.

A discrete-time network with multiple transitions is defined. It is characterized by the independence of the service processes at different nodes. That network is shown to have the familiar quasi-reversibility properties.

Let U denote the set of all integers, and suppose that Y = {Yu; u ∈ U} is a process of standardized, independent and identically distributed random variables with finite third moment and with a common absolutely continuous distribution function (d.f.) G (·). Let a = {au; u ∈ U} be a sequence of real numbers with Σuau2 = 1. Then Xu = ΣwawYu–w defines a stationary linear process X = {Xu; u ɛ U} with E(Xu) = 0, E(Xu2) = 1 for u ∊ U. Let F(·) be the d.f. of X0. We prove that if maxu |au| is small, then (i) for each w, Xw is close to Gaussian in the sense that ∫∞−∞(F(y) − Φ(y))2dy ≦ g maxu |au | where Φ(·) is the standard Gaussian d.f., and g depends only on G(·); (ii) for each finite set (w1, … wn), (Xw1, … Xwn) is close to Gaussian in a similar sense; (iii) the process X is close to Gaussian in a somewhat restricted sense. Several properties of the measures of distance from Gaussianity employed are investigated, and the relation of maxu|au| to the bandwidth of the filter a is studied.

Braess's paradox is said to occur in a network if the addition of an extra link leads to worse performance. It has been shown to occur in transportation networks (such as road networks) and also in queueing networks. Here, we show that it can occur in loss networks.

A single server queueing system with Poisson input is considered. There are a finite number of types of customers and the service time of the nth customers depends on the types of the nth and the (n – l)th customers. The time dependence of the queue size process will be studied, (it will be clear how the methods of the paper can be applied to other processes of interest,) and limiting as well as transient results will be given.

This paper investigates a system whose deterioration is expressed as a continuous-time Markov process. It is assumed that the state of the system cannot be identified without inspection. This paper derives an optimal policy minimizing the expected total long-run average cost per unit time. It gives the optimal time interval between successive inspections and determines the states at which the system is to be replaced. Furthermore, under some reasonable assumptions reflecting the practical meaning of the deterioration, it is shown that the optimal policy has monotonic properties. A control limit rule holds for replacement, and the time interval between successive inspections decreases as the degree of deterioration increases.

Let {W(t), 0 ≦ t < ∞} be the standard Wiener process. The main purpose of this paper is to present ways of obtaining probabilities of Wiener paths crossing certain curves on various intervals. The results are extended to other kinds of Gaussian processes.

Queueing systems with a special service mechanism are considered. Arrivals consist of two types of customers, and services are performed for pairs of one customer from each type. The state of the queue is described by the number of pairs and the difference, called the excess, between the number of customers of each class. Under different assumptions for the arrival process, it is shown that the excess, considered at suitably defined epochs, forms a Markov chain which is either transient or null recurrent. A system with Poisson arrivals and exponential services is then considered, for which the arrival rates depend on the excess, in such a way that the excess is bounded. It is shown that the queue is stable whenever the service rate exceeds a critical value, which depends in a simple manner on the arrival rates. For stable queues, the stationary probability vector is of matrix-geometric form and is easily computable.

If for two c.d.f.'s F(·) and G(·), 1 – F(x)/1 – G(x) → A, 0 <A <∞, as x → ∞, then for normalizing constants an > 0, bn, n > 1, Fn(anx + bn) → φ(x), φ(x) non-degenerate, iff Gn(anx + bn)→ φ A−1(x). Conversely, if Fn(anx+bn)→ φ(x), Gn(anx + bn) → φ'(x), φ(x) and φ'(x) non-degenerate, then there exist constants C >0 and D such that φ'(x) =φ(Cx + D) and limx→∞ 1 — F(x)/1 — G(x) exists and is expressed in terms of C and D, depending on which type of extreme value distribution φ(x) is. These results are used to study domain of attraction questions for products of distribution functions and to reduce the limit law problem for maxima of a sequence of random variables defined on a Markov chain (M.C.) to the independent, identically distributed (i.i.d.) case.

An interacting particle system modelling competing growth on the ℤ2 lattice is defined as follows. Each x ∈ ℤ2 is in one of the states {0,1,2}. 1's and 2's remain in their states for ever, while a 0 flips to a 1 (a 2) at a rate equal to the number of its neighbours which are in state 1 (2). This is a generalization of the well-known Richardson model. 1's and 2's may be thought of as two types of infection, and 0's as uninfected sites. We prove that if we start with a single site in state 1 and a single site in state 2, then there is positive probability for the event that both types of infection reach infinitely many sites. This result implies that the spanning tree of time-minimizing paths from the origin in first passage percolation with exponential passage times has at least two topological ends with positive probability.

Stratified and simple random sampling (or testing) are two common methods used to investigate the number or proportion of items in a population with a particular attribute. Although it is known that cost factors and information about the strata in the population are often crucial in deciding whether to use stratified or simple random sampling in a given situation, the stochastic precedence ordering for random variables can also provide the basis for an interesting criteria under which these methods may be compared. It may be particularly relevant when we are trying to find as many special items as possible in a population (for example individuals with a disease in a country). Properties of this total stochastic order on the class of random variables are discussed, and necessary and sufficient conditions are established which allow the comparison of the number of items of interest found in stratified random sampling with the number found in simple random sampling in the stochastic precedence order. These conditions are compared with other results established on stratified and simple random sampling (testing) using different stochastic-order-type criteria, and applications are given for the comparison of sums of Bernoulli random variables and binomial distributions.

In many situations, it is reasonable to assume that a priority rule does not affect the total time spent in service of any job. Rules with this property are said to be work-conserving. This concept unifies and simplifies the analysis of a variety of priority queues. Some results are obtained for rules applied to the GI/G/1 queue. Some special properties of Poisson arrivals are discussed, and a new proof of the equivalence of averaging over all time with averaging over arrival epochs is presented. In this case, explicit results for particular rules are obtained in examples. In another example, the optimal rule (from a very restrictive class) is determined without specializing the arrival stream.

Diffusion and birth-death processes have basic theoretical and practical importance for statistics. Insight into the structure of transition distributions and passage time distributions for such processes has been given in recent years by Feller. Karlin, Kemperman, D. G. Kendall, Reuter and many others. An elementary account of this work and partial bibliography has been given elsewhere ([9], [10)]. Certain key passage time densities and sojourn time densities for such processes have a simple property of log-concavity or log-convexity and associated unimodality. Such properties provide information on the character of distributions unavailable from the spectral representations, Laplace transforms and series of convolutions at hand. These properties may also have value for purposes of estimation and optimization.

A class of continuous-time models is developed for modelling data with heavy tails and long-range dependence. These models are based on the Green function solutions of fractional differential equations driven by Lévy noise. Some exact results on the second- and higher-order characteristics of the equations are obtained. Applications to stochastic volatility of asset prices and macroeconomics are provided.

Stability in population size is illusory: populations left to themselves either grow beyond all bounds or die out. But if they do not die out their composition stabilizes. These problems are discussed in terms of general abstract, multitype branching processes. The life and descent of a typical individual is described.

We derive the MacLaurin series for the moments of the system time and the delay with respect to the parameters in the service time or interarrival time distributions in the GI/G/1 queue. The coefficients in these series are expressed in terms of the derivatives of the interarrival time density function evaluated at zero and the moments of the service time distribution, which can be easily calculated through a simple recursive procedure. The light traffic derivatives can be obtained from these series. For the M/G/1 queue, we are able to recover the formulas for the moments of the system time and the delay, including the Pollaczek–Khinchin mean-value formula.