Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2010
Given a Markov chain, a stochastic flow that simultaneously constructs sample paths started at each possible initial value can be constructed as a composition of random fields. Here, a method is described for coupling flows by modifying an arbitrary field (consistent with the Markov chain of interest) by an independence Metropolis-Hastings iteration. The resulting stochastic flow is shown to have many desirable coalescence properties, regardless of the form of the original flow.