For each adjacent pair, the detailed balance equations follows directly:For nonadjacent distinct states both fluxes vanish, and diagonal fluxes agree trivially. Since , this is a genuine stationary distribution, rather than merely an invariant measure of infinite mass.
Every upward and downward transition probability between neighbouring states is positive for . Any two states can therefore be joined by a finite path of positive probability: the Markov chain is irreducible. Moreover,State zero has period one; Markov chain irreducibility makes every state aperiodic. Finally, the standard countable-state recurrence theorem states that an irreducible Markov chain admitting a stationary distribution of total mass one is positive recurrent, with that stationary distribution unique. The countable-state Markov chain convergence theorem then states that Markov chain irreducibility, positive recurrence and aperiodicity imply for all states . The hypotheses just verified hold on the infinite state space , not merely on a numerical truncation.[ref]
Markov Chains by James R. Norris. Sections 1.7–1.8, invariant distributions and convergence to equilibrium
Consequently, the unique stationary distribution and the limiting distribution are both , from every initial state. The countable-state Markov chain ergodic theorem also gives almost surely whenever .[ref]
The restriction is a finite Markov chain that is an irreducible Markov chain. It is aperiodic, because its upper states have self-transition probability , and the period is constant on a communicating class. We now find its stationary distribution.
Every column of sums to one. Here is the full incoming-mass check, with each total measured in units of . For , the incoming contributions are from and from the self-transition. For , they are from and from the self-transition.
For , the upward predecessor lies in exactly when , contributing units. When , that predecessor is replaced by resets from all states of , again contributing units. Independently, the downward predecessor contributes units when ; when , resets from the states of contribute those units instead. Thus every column total is units.
Therefore is a doubly stochastic matrix, and the uniform distribution on is stationary:The countable-state Markov chain convergence theorem, applied to the finite closed class , gives for every . Its hypotheses hold: is finite and irreducible, hence positive recurrent, and it is aperiodic.
If , the hitting time of has . If , the corresponding tail is . Thus almost surely from every exterior initial state. Conditioning on and , use convergence within after entrance and the bounded convergence theorem; equivalently, first restrict to and then let . This proves, for every ,The limiting distribution is independent of .
(b)(i): communicating classes. Every increment is divisible by , so the residue class modulo is preserved. Conversely, if is divisible by , Bézout's identity applied to gives a path just as in (b)(i). Thus the original Markov chain is reducible on , with exactly the closed communicating classesThe specified walk starting at zero stays in .
(b)(ii): period of a state in a Markov chain. The return equation reduces to . Hence , . For every state, the period of a state in a Markov chain is thereforeThis is still at least two, so no state is aperiodic.
(b)(iii): stationary distribution. The conclusion is unchanged: there is no stationary distribution on . The maximum-mass proof in (b)(iii) applies verbatim, without using coprimality. Equivalently, each closed communicating class, after translating and dividing its state labels by , is the same centered random walk with step sizes and has no stationary distribution.
(b)(iv): occupation of zero. On , the rescaled walk has exactly the transition probabilities of the coprime walk with parameters . The return-probability argument in (b)(iv) therefore makes this class null recurrent. The renewal process proof of the occupation limit applies unchanged:Starting in another residue class would make every visit to zero impossible, also giving occupation proportion zero.
(c)(i): modified communicating classes. These are unchanged: is one finite closed communicating class, and all other states are transient singleton classes. The original proof used consecutive reset destinations and never used coprimality. Resetting to the consecutive integers connects different residue classes, so it would be incorrect to split according to residue classes modulo .
(c)(ii): limiting distribution. The column-sum calculation, the irreducible Markov chain property on a finite class, positive self-transition probabilities, and geometric entrance argument also required no coprimality. Thus for every initial state the same convergence in distribution holds:In particular, the denominator is unchanged; it is not divided by .