Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 207 3 f Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For the stochastic SIR model, the state is a continuous-time Markov chain on nonnegative integer triples summing to , initially . Its only transitions areRates vanish when a proposed transition would leave the state space. Equivalently, with independent unit-rate Poisson processes , the Poisson time-change representation of a Markov chain isThe left limits describe the state immediately before each jump. In the Gillespie algorithm, wait an exponential distribution time with rate , then choose infection or recovery in proportion to these two rates.