Abstract
Consider a centred random walk in dimension one with a positive finite variance σ2, and let τB be the hitting time for a bounded Borel set B with a non-empty interior. We prove the asymptotic Px(τB>n)∼2/πσ-1VB(x)n-1/2 and provide an explicit formula for the limit VB as a function of the initial position x of the walk. We also give a functional limit theorem for the walk conditioned to avoid B by the time n. As a main application, we consider the case that B is an interval and study the size of the largest gap Gn (maximal spacing) within the range of the walk by the time n. We prove a limit theorem for Gn, which is shown to be of the constant order, and describe its limit distribution. In addition, we prove an analogous result for the number of non-visited sites within the range of an integer-valued random walk.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1886-1910 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Stochastic Processes and their Applications |
Volume | 125 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Conditional limit theorem
- Harmonic function
- Hitting time
- Killed random walk
- Largest gap
- Limit theorem
- Maximal spacing
- Number of non-visited sites
- Random walk
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Modeling and Simulation
- Statistics and Probability
- Applied Mathematics