This book provides an undergraduate-level introduction to discrete and continuous-time Markov chains and their applications, with a particular focus on the first step analysis technique and its applications to the computation of average hitting times and ruin probabilities. It also discusses classical topics such as recurrence and transience, stationary and limiting distributions, as well as branching processes. It starts by examining in detail two important examples (gambling processes an...

This text presents selected applications of discrete-time stochastic processes that involve random interactions and algorithms, and revolve around the Markov property. It covers recurrence properties of (excited) random walks, convergence and mixing of Markov chains, distribution modeling using phase-type distributions, applications to search engines and probabilistic automata, and an introduction to the Ising model used in statistical physics. Applications to data science are also conside...

Introduction to Stochastic Finance with Market Examples, Second Edition presents an introduction to pricing and hedging in discrete and continuous-time financial models, emphasizing both analytical and probabilistic methods. It demonstrates both the power and limitations of mathematical models in finance, covering the basics of stochastic calculus for finance, and details the techniques required to model the time evolution of risky assets. The book discusses a wide range of classical topic...

This book provides an undergraduate introduction to discrete and continuous-time Markov chains and their applications. A large focus is placed on the first step analysis technique and its applications to average hitting times and ruin probabilities. Classical topics such as recurrence and transience, stationary and limiting distributions, as well as branching processes, are also covered. Two major examples (gambling processes and random walks) are treated in detail from the beginning, befo...

This book provides an undergraduate-level introduction to discrete and continuous-time Markov chains and their applications, with a particular focus on the first step analysis technique and its applications to average hitting times and ruin probabilities. It also discusses classical topics such as recurrence and transience, stationary and limiting distributions, as well as branching processes. It first examines in detail two important examples (gambling processes and random walks) before p...

This book provides an undergraduate introduction to discrete and continuous-time Markov chains and their applications. A large focus is placed on the first step analysis technique and its applications to average hitting times and ruin probabilities. Classical topics such as recurrence and transience, stationary and limiting distributions, as well as branching processes, are also covered. Two major examples (gambling processes and random walks) are treated in detail from the beginning, befo...

This book provides an undergraduate-level introduction to discrete and continuous-time Markov chains and their applications, with a particular focus on the first step analysis technique and its applications to average hitting times and ruin probabilities. It also discusses classical topics such as recurrence and transience, stationary and limiting distributions, as well as branching processes. It first examines in detail two important examples (gambling processes and random walks) before p...

This book introduces the mathematics of stochastic interest rate modeling and the pricing of related derivatives, based on a step-by-step presentation of concepts with a focus on explicit calculations. The types of interest rates considered range from short rates to forward rates such as LIBOR and swap rates, which are presented in the HJM and BGM frameworks. The pricing and hedging of interest rate and fixed income derivatives such as bond options, caps, and swaptions, are treated using f...

This monograph is a progressive introduction to non-commutativity in probability theory, summarizing and synthesizing recent results about classical and quantum stochastic processes on Lie algebras. In the early chapters, focus is placed on concrete examples of the links between algebraic relations and the moments of probability distributions. The subsequent chapters are more advanced and deal with Wigner densities for non-commutative couples of random variables, non-commutative stochastic...

This is a one-of-a-kind reference for anyone with a serious interest in mathematics. Edited by Timothy Gowers, a recipient of the Fields Medal, it presents nearly two hundred entries, written especially for this book by some of the world's leading mathematicians, that introduce basic mathematical tools and vocabulary; trace the development of modern mathematics; explain essential terms and concepts; examine core ideas in major areas of mathematics; describe the achievements of scores of fa...

This lively and accessible book describes the theory and applications of Hilbert spaces and also presents the history of the subject to reveal the ideas behind theorems and the human struggle that led to them. The authors begin by establishing the concept of 'countably infinite', which is central to the proper understanding of separable Hilbert spaces. Fundamental ideas such as convergence, completeness and dense sets are first demonstrated through simple familiar examples and then formali...

Linear algebra and matrix theory are fundamental tools in mathematical and physical science, as well as fertile fields for research. This second edition of this acclaimed text presents results of both classic and recent matrix analysis using canonical forms as a unifying theme and demonstrates their importance in a variety of applications. This thoroughly revised and updated second edition is a text for a second course on linear algebra and has more than 1,100 problems and exercises, new s...