Great advances have been made in recent years in the field of computational probability. In particular, the state of the art - as it relates to queuing systems, stochastic Petri-nets and systems dealing with reliability - has benefited significantly from these advances. The objective of this book is to make these topics accessible to researchers, graduate students, and practitioners. Great care was taken to make the exposition as clear as possible. Every line in the book has been evaluated, and changes have been made whenever it was felt that the initial exposition was not clear enough for the intended readership. The work of major research scholars in this field comprises the individual chapters of Computational Probability. The first chapter describes, in nonmathematical terms, the challenges in computational probability. Chapter 2 describes the methodologies available for obtaining the transition matrices for Markov chains, with particular emphasis on stochastic Petri-nets. Chapter 3 discusses how to find transient probabilities and transient rewards for these Markov chains. The next two chapters indicate how to find steady-state probabilities for Markov chains with a finite number of states. Both direct and iterative methods are described in Chapter 4. Details of these methods are given in Chapter 5. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with infinite-state Markov chains, which occur frequently in queueing, because there are times one does not want to set a bound for all queues. Chapter 8 deals with transforms, in particular Laplace transforms. The work of Ward Whitt and his collaborators, who have recently developed a number of numerical methods for Laplace transform inversions, is emphasized in this chapter. Finally, if one wants to optimize a system, one way to do the optimization is through Markov decision making, described in Chapter 9. Markov modeling has found applications in many areas, three of which are described in detail: Chapter 10 analyzes discrete-time queues, Chapter 11 describes networks of queues, and Chapter 12 deals with reliability theory.

This title organizes computational probability methods into a systematic treatment. The book examines two categories of problems. "Algorithms for Continuous Random Variables" covers data structures and algorithms, transformations of random variables, and products of independent random variables. "Algorithms for Discrete Random Variables" discusses data structures and algorithms, sums of independent random variables, and order statistics.

Random processes and Random number generators; Simulation of probability experiments; Gaming, Random Walks, and linear equations; Gambler's ruin with extensions to inventory control; Limiting processes for Random Walks and time series simulation; Monte Carlo integration and solution of differential equations.

In the present time, two of the most important approaches to tackle complex systems are probability and stochastic processes theory. Still from an analytic perspective, modeling and solving a problem using a stochastic approach is not a trivial issue, hence, a combination of the logic of probabilistic reasoning with computational science is needed to obtain qualitatively good solutions in a reasonable time. This eBook presents an interesting view of applications associated to fields of probability, statistics, and mathematic modeling, all of them supported by a computational context though the approach of stochasticity and simulation used in most of them. This collection contains three chapters, which bring applications in fields of biology, finance and physics, each chapter contains work(s) with specific applications. An editorial is also contained with a summarized version of each work, and each of them are widely explained in a specific section, which include a state of art to support the nature of the individual research, a methodology to solve the defined problem and the results and conclusions. We hope the present eBook can represent a potential source of knowledge for the academic community of implicated disciplines, and an inspirational starting point of starting for scientists in the amazing world of applied mathematics and the search to solve complex problems

This undergraduate textbook presents an inquiry-based learning course in stochastic models and computing designed to serve as a first course in probability. Its modular structure complements a traditional lecture format, introducing new topics chapter by chapter with accompanying projects for group collaboration. The text addresses probability axioms leading to Bayes’ theorem, discrete and continuous random variables, Markov chains, and Brownian motion, as well as applications including randomized algorithms, randomized surveys, Benford’s law, and Monte Carlo methods. Adopting a unique application-driven approach to better study probability in action, the book emphasizes data, simulation, and games to strengthen reader insight and intuition while proving theorems. Additionally, the text incorporates codes and exercises in the Julia programming language to further promote a hands-on focus in modelling. Students should have prior knowledge of single variable calculus. Giray Ökten received his PhD from Claremont Graduate University. He has held academic positions at University of Alaska Fairbanks, Ball State University, and Florida State University. He received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award in 2015. He is the author of an open access textbook in numerical analysis, First Semester in Numerical Analysis with Julia, published by Florida State University Libraries, and a co-author of a children’s math book, The Mathematical Investigations of Dr. O and Arya, published by Tumblehome. His research interests include Monte Carlo methods and computational finance.

Some probability problems are so difficult that they stump the smartest mathematicians. But even the hardest of these problems can often be solved with a computer and a Monte Carlo simulation, in which a random-number generator simulates a physical process, such as a million rolls of a pair of dice. This is what Digital Dice is all about: how to get numerical answers to difficult probability problems without having to solve complicated mathematical equations. Popular-math writer Paul Nahin challenges readers to solve twenty-one difficult but fun problems, from determining the odds of coin-flipping games to figuring out the behavior of elevators. Problems build from relatively easy (deciding whether a dishwasher who breaks most of the dishes at a restaurant during a given week is clumsy or just the victim of randomness) to the very difficult (tackling branching processes of the kind that had to be solved by Manhattan Project mathematician Stanislaw Ulam). In his characteristic style, Nahin brings the problems to life with interesting and odd historical anecdotes. Readers learn, for example, not just how to determine the optimal stopping point in any selection process but that astronomer Johannes Kepler selected his second wife by interviewing eleven women. The book shows readers how to write elementary computer codes using any common programming language, and provides solutions and line-by-line walk-throughs of a MATLAB code for each problem. Digital Dice will appeal to anyone who enjoys popular math or computer science. In a new preface, Nahin wittily addresses some of the responses he received to the first edition.

Great advances have been made in recent years in the field of computational probability. In particular, the state of the art - as it relates to queuing systems, stochastic Petri-nets and systems dealing with reliability - has benefited significantly from these advances. The objective of this book is to make these topics accessible to researchers, graduate students, and practitioners. Great care was taken to make the exposition as clear as possible. Every line in the book has been evaluated, and changes have been made whenever it was felt that the initial exposition was not clear enough for the intended readership. The work of major research scholars in this field comprises the individual chapters of Computational Probability. The first chapter describes, in nonmathematical terms, the challenges in computational probability. Chapter 2 describes the methodologies available for obtaining the transition matrices for Markov chains, with particular emphasis on stochastic Petri-nets. Chapter 3 discusses how to find transient probabilities and transient rewards for these Markov chains. The next two chapters indicate how to find steady-state probabilities for Markov chains with a finite number of states. Both direct and iterative methods are described in Chapter 4. Details of these methods are given in Chapter 5. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with infinite-state Markov chains, which occur frequently in queueing, because there are times one does not want to set a bound for all queues. Chapter 8 deals with transforms, in particular Laplace transforms. The work of Ward Whitt and his collaborators, who have recently developed a number of numerical methods for Laplace transform inversions, is emphasized in this chapter. Finally, if one wants to optimize a system, one way to do the optimization is through Markov decision making, described in Chapter 9. Markov modeling has found applications in many areas, three of which are described in detail: Chapter 10 analyzes discrete-time queues, Chapter 11 describes networks of queues, and Chapter 12 deals with reliability theory.