When is it necessary to solve Kolmogorov forward equations (KFE) for a Markov Chain?












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$begingroup$


Say I have a continuous time markov chain, time homogeneous $X$ with a few states (say, 2). I want to know the distribution of where $X$ is at time $t$, call it $mu_t$, which will be a vector of 2 elements since there are two states. From the book Grimmet and Stirzaker, we have the Chapman Kolmogorov equations:



$$mu_{t+s}=mu_t*P_s, forall s,t ge 0$$



where $P_s$ is the infinitesimal probability transition matrix at time $s$.



I know we also have the Kolmogorov forward and Kolmogorov backward equations which tell us how $P_t$ evolves with time.



I'd like to when it is necessary to use the KFE equations. In every Markov Chain problem, we are given either:




  • The probability transition matrix, $P_t$ explicitly, OR

  • The generator matrix $G$


IF I have the generator matrix $G$ then like it shows on page 258, I can easily get the $P_t$ matrix by $p_ii=1+g_{ii}*h+o(h)$ and $p_ij=g_{ij}*h+o(h)$ (as shown on page 258)



and if I have $P_t$ matrix, then I can always use the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation in order to get $mu_t$ at an instant in time $t$: $mu_{t}=mu_0*P_t$ (as I showed above). Is that correct?



Then, given $mu_0$, the initial state distribution, I don’t see any reason to solve the KFE equations. When would I need to solve them?










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  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
    $endgroup$
    – Zachary Selk
    Dec 30 '18 at 1:49
















0












$begingroup$


Say I have a continuous time markov chain, time homogeneous $X$ with a few states (say, 2). I want to know the distribution of where $X$ is at time $t$, call it $mu_t$, which will be a vector of 2 elements since there are two states. From the book Grimmet and Stirzaker, we have the Chapman Kolmogorov equations:



$$mu_{t+s}=mu_t*P_s, forall s,t ge 0$$



where $P_s$ is the infinitesimal probability transition matrix at time $s$.



I know we also have the Kolmogorov forward and Kolmogorov backward equations which tell us how $P_t$ evolves with time.



I'd like to when it is necessary to use the KFE equations. In every Markov Chain problem, we are given either:




  • The probability transition matrix, $P_t$ explicitly, OR

  • The generator matrix $G$


IF I have the generator matrix $G$ then like it shows on page 258, I can easily get the $P_t$ matrix by $p_ii=1+g_{ii}*h+o(h)$ and $p_ij=g_{ij}*h+o(h)$ (as shown on page 258)



and if I have $P_t$ matrix, then I can always use the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation in order to get $mu_t$ at an instant in time $t$: $mu_{t}=mu_0*P_t$ (as I showed above). Is that correct?



Then, given $mu_0$, the initial state distribution, I don’t see any reason to solve the KFE equations. When would I need to solve them?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
    $endgroup$
    – Zachary Selk
    Dec 30 '18 at 1:49














0












0








0





$begingroup$


Say I have a continuous time markov chain, time homogeneous $X$ with a few states (say, 2). I want to know the distribution of where $X$ is at time $t$, call it $mu_t$, which will be a vector of 2 elements since there are two states. From the book Grimmet and Stirzaker, we have the Chapman Kolmogorov equations:



$$mu_{t+s}=mu_t*P_s, forall s,t ge 0$$



where $P_s$ is the infinitesimal probability transition matrix at time $s$.



I know we also have the Kolmogorov forward and Kolmogorov backward equations which tell us how $P_t$ evolves with time.



I'd like to when it is necessary to use the KFE equations. In every Markov Chain problem, we are given either:




  • The probability transition matrix, $P_t$ explicitly, OR

  • The generator matrix $G$


IF I have the generator matrix $G$ then like it shows on page 258, I can easily get the $P_t$ matrix by $p_ii=1+g_{ii}*h+o(h)$ and $p_ij=g_{ij}*h+o(h)$ (as shown on page 258)



and if I have $P_t$ matrix, then I can always use the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation in order to get $mu_t$ at an instant in time $t$: $mu_{t}=mu_0*P_t$ (as I showed above). Is that correct?



Then, given $mu_0$, the initial state distribution, I don’t see any reason to solve the KFE equations. When would I need to solve them?










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Say I have a continuous time markov chain, time homogeneous $X$ with a few states (say, 2). I want to know the distribution of where $X$ is at time $t$, call it $mu_t$, which will be a vector of 2 elements since there are two states. From the book Grimmet and Stirzaker, we have the Chapman Kolmogorov equations:



$$mu_{t+s}=mu_t*P_s, forall s,t ge 0$$



where $P_s$ is the infinitesimal probability transition matrix at time $s$.



I know we also have the Kolmogorov forward and Kolmogorov backward equations which tell us how $P_t$ evolves with time.



I'd like to when it is necessary to use the KFE equations. In every Markov Chain problem, we are given either:




  • The probability transition matrix, $P_t$ explicitly, OR

  • The generator matrix $G$


IF I have the generator matrix $G$ then like it shows on page 258, I can easily get the $P_t$ matrix by $p_ii=1+g_{ii}*h+o(h)$ and $p_ij=g_{ij}*h+o(h)$ (as shown on page 258)



and if I have $P_t$ matrix, then I can always use the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation in order to get $mu_t$ at an instant in time $t$: $mu_{t}=mu_0*P_t$ (as I showed above). Is that correct?



Then, given $mu_0$, the initial state distribution, I don’t see any reason to solve the KFE equations. When would I need to solve them?







stochastic-processes markov-chains markov-process stochastic-pde hidden-markov-models






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share|cite|improve this question













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edited Dec 10 '18 at 0:00







nundo

















asked Dec 9 '18 at 23:52









nundonundo

13018




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  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
    $endgroup$
    – Zachary Selk
    Dec 30 '18 at 1:49














  • 1




    $begingroup$
    You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
    $endgroup$
    – Zachary Selk
    Dec 30 '18 at 1:49








1




1




$begingroup$
You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
$endgroup$
– Zachary Selk
Dec 30 '18 at 1:49




$begingroup$
You have tagged this as stochastic-pde. Is there a stochastic-pde somewhere in your question?
$endgroup$
– Zachary Selk
Dec 30 '18 at 1:49










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