Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / Prelims / Mathematics III / 5 / b / iv / Solution

Starting from $X$ at time $n$, the markov property and the time-independent transition rules give $\mathbb{P}(M_{2n}=X\mid M_n=X)=p_n$. ThereforeWrite $p_n=\frac{3}{4}(\frac{3}{4}{)}^n\left(1+\frac{1}{3}(-\frac{1}{3}{)}^n\right)$. The conditional probability becomesThe conditioning selects paths which have avoided the absorbing state up to time $2n$; it is therefore quite different from the unconditioned probability $p_n$, which tends to zero.