Coefficients of ergodicity: structure and applications

Abstract

The concept of ‘coefficient of ergodicity’, τ(P), for a finite stochastic matrix P, is developed from a standpoint more general and less standard than hitherto, albeit synthesized from ideas in existing literature. Several versions of such a coefficient are studied theoretically and by numerical examples, and usefulness in applications compared from viewpoints which include the degree to which extension to more general matrices is possible. Attention is given to the less familiar spectrum localization property: where λ is any non-unit eigenvalue of P. The essential purpose is exposition and unification, with the aid of simple informal proofs.