A stochastic process whose successive intervals between events form a first order Markov chain — I

Abstract

In this paper we discuss a counter system whose output is a stochastic point process such that the time intervals between pairs of successive events form a first order Markov chain. Such processes may be regarded as next, in order of complexity, in a hierarchy of stochastic point processes, to “renewal” processes, which latter have been studied extensively. The main virtue of the particular system which is studied here is that virtually all its important statistical properties can be obtained in closed form and that it is physically realizable as an electronic device. As such it forms the basis for a laboratory generator whose output may be used for experimental work involving processes of this kind.Such statistical properties as the one and two-dimensional probability densities for the time intervals are considered in both the stationary and nonstationary state and also discussed are corresponding properties of the successive numbers arising in the stores of the counter system. In particular it is shown that the degree of coupling between successive time intervals may be adjusted in practice without altering the one dimensional probability density for the interval lengths. It is pointed out that operation of the counter system may also be regarded as a problem in queueing theory involving one server alternately serving two queues. A generalization of the counter system, whose inputs are normally a pair of statistically independent Poisson processes, to the case where one of the inputs is a renewal process is considered and leads to some interesting functional equations.