Forward operator of a Markov jump process 2026-09-28
For jumps of rates , the forward operator acts on a probability mass function byIt is adjoint to the Markov jump-process generator .
Moment equation 2026-10-05
For a Markov jump-process generator , differentiating an integrable observable gives , when the generator identity and interchange are justified. Choosing powers gives equations for moments. These need not form a closed finite system.
Moment hierarchy 2026-09-28
A moment hierarchy is the coupled family of equations obtained by applying a Markov jump-process generator to powers of the state. Nonlinear reaction propensity functions make a moment of one order depend on higher-order moments, so the hierarchy generally does not close after finitely many equations.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ii Paper 3 6B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 6B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
In the birth-death master equation, The upward jump has rate and the downward jump rate , so the first two jump moments per unit time are and . The second-order Kramers-Moyal expansion gives the diffusion approximation of a birth-death processFor the associated Fokker-Planck equation, integrating by parts with vanishing moment boundary terms gives . Taking yieldsFor example, if , then , while the variance satisfies . The two boxed moment equations also follow exactly from the discrete Markov jump-process generator, since quadratic functions have no higher jump terms. A reflecting diffusion confined to can have extra boundary contributions; the formal approximation near extinction is not an exact replacement for the discrete process.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 28K c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For ,so part (b) ensures nonexplosion. The Markov jump-process generator acts on the identity function asConsequently satisfiesSolving this linear ordinary differential equation gives the mean of the linear birth process with immigration:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 2 6E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Differentiate and substitute the three master equations. Reindexing every gain term by its source state gives one contribution per possible transition:This is the generator identity for a continuous-time Markov chain applied to the test function .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 356 3 d Solution 2026-09-28
Applying the reduced Markov jump-process generator to gives the exact moment equationUnder the stated moment closure this becomes the same expression evaluated at . Set and let to obtainIts positive stable equilibrium is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 1 6C Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
With population , the transition diagram has the two outgoing arrowsThus this is a batch-birth linear-death process. If and for , probability enters state from by a birth and from by a death. Hence the master equation is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 2 28J a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
A simple birth process with parameter starting from one individual is the Yule process: when its population is , it waits an exponential time of rate and then moves to .
For , the Markov jump-process generator satisfiesTherefore obeysIt follows, as recorded by the mean population of a Yule process, that
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 356 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
For a function on the copy-number state space, define the shift operatorWith the propensities from part (a), the forward operator of a Markov jump process isEquivalently, the chemical master equation has the gain-minus-loss formwhere terms outside the state space vanish.
The adjoint Markov jump-process generator acts on observables:Indeed, shifting the summation index in the gain terms gives .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 356 1 d i Solution 2026-09-28
For any observable , the Markov jump-process generator identity givesSet and . With , reaction 2 changes by and reaction 3 changes it by . Thereforeand, using and ,The equation for the second moment contains the third, whose equation contains the fourth, and so on. This is an infinite moment hierarchy.
Reaction 1 eventually leaves the odd initial copy number at . PutThe stationary first-moment equation givesThe stationary second-moment equation then givesUnder the prescribed central-moment closure,Substitution yields the requested polynomial equationThis cubic comes from the closure approximation; it is not an exact equation for the stationary mean.
A jump process with event types , increments , and rates can be represented as , with independent unit-rate Poisson processes. This represents the Markov jump-process generator through time-changed counts.