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Generating Probability Distributions using Multivalued Stochastic Relay Circuits
The problem of random number generation dates back to von Neumann's work in
1951. Since then, many algorithms have been developed for generating unbiased
bits from complex correlated sources as well as for generating arbitrary
distributions from unbiased bits. An equally interesting, but less studied
aspect is the structural component of random number generation as opposed to
the algorithmic aspect. That is, given a network structure imposed by nature or
physical devices, how can we build networks that generate arbitrary probability
distributions in an optimal way? In this paper, we study the generation of
arbitrary probability distributions in multivalued relay circuits, a
generalization in which relays can take on any of N states and the logical
'and' and 'or' are replaced with 'min' and 'max' respectively. Previous work
was done on two-state relays. We generalize these results, describing a duality
property and networks that generate arbitrary rational probability
distributions. We prove that these networks are robust to errors and design a
universal probability generator which takes input bits and outputs arbitrary
binary probability distributions