The Gillis–Domb–Fisher correlated random walk

Abstract

Correlated random walk models figure prominently in many scientific disciplines. Of fundamental importance in such applications is the development of the characteristic function of the n-step probability distribution since it contains complete information on the probability structure of the process. Using a simple algebraic lemma we derive the n-step characteristic function of the Gillis correlated random walk together with other related results. In particular, we present a new and simple proof of Gillis's conjecture, consider the generalization to the Gillis–Domb–Fisher walk, and examine the effect of including an arbitrary initial distribution.