17 research outputs found
Stationary Distribution and Eigenvalues for a de Bruijn Process
We define a de Bruijn process with parameters n and L as a certain
continuous-time Markov chain on the de Bruijn graph with words of length L over
an n-letter alphabet as vertices. We determine explicitly its steady state
distribution and its characteristic polynomial, which turns out to decompose
into linear factors. In addition, we examine the stationary state of two
specializations in detail. In the first one, the de Bruijn-Bernoulli process,
this is a product measure. In the second one, the Skin-deep de Bruin process,
the distribution has constant density but nontrivial correlation functions. The
two point correlation function is determined using generating function
techniques.Comment: Dedicated to Herb Wilf on the occasion of his 80th birthda