Markov Chains and Stochastic Stability is part of the "Communications and Control Engineering Series" ("CCES") edited by Professors B.W. Dickinson, E.D. Sontag, M. Thoma, A. Fettweis, J.L. Massey and J.W. Modestino. The area of Markov chain theory and application has matured over the past 20 years into something more accessible and complete. It is of increasing interest and importance. This publication deals with the action of Markov chains on general state spaces. It discusses the theories and the use to be gained, concentrating on the areas of engineering, operations research and control theory. Throughout, the theme of stochastic stability and the search for practical methods of verifying such stability, provide a new and powerful technique. This does not only affect applications but also the development of the theory itself. The impact of the theory on specific models is discussed in detail, in order to provide examples as well as to demonstrate the importance of these models. Markov Chains and Stochastic Stability can be used as a textbook on applied Markov chain theory, provided that one concentrates on the main aspects only. It is also of benefit to graduate students with a standard background in countable space stochastic models. Finally, the book can serve as a research resource and active tool for practitioners.

Meyn & Tweedie is back The bible on Markov chains in general state spaces has been brought up to date to reflect developments in the field since 1996 - many of them sparked by publication of the first edition. The pursuit of more efficient simulation algorithms for complex Markovian models, or algorithms for computation of optimal policies for controlled Markov models, has opened new directions for research on Markov chains. As a result, new applications have emerged across a wide range of topics including optimisation, statistics, and economics. New commentary and an epilogue by Sean Meyn summarise recent developments and references have been fully updated. This second edition reflects the same discipline and style that marked out the original and helped it to become a classic: proofs are rigorous and concise, the range of applications is broad and knowledgeable, and key ideas are accessible to practitioners with limited mathematical background.