Markov additive process

This article is about bivariate processes. For arrival processes to queues, see Markovian arrival process.

In applied probability, a Markov additive process (MAP) is a bivariate Markov process where the future states depends only on one of the variables.

Definition

Finite or countable state space for J(t)

The process {(X(t),J(t)) : t ≥ 0} is a Markov additive process with continuous time parameter t if

1. {(X(t),J(t)) : t ≥ 0} is a Markov process
2. the conditional distribution of (X(t + s) − X(t),J(s + t)) given (X(t),J(t)) depends only on J(t).

The state space of the process is R × S where X(t) takes real values and J(t) takes values in some countable set S.

General state space for J(t)

For the case where J(t) takes a more general state space the evolution of X(t) is governed by J(t) in the sense that for any f and g we require

$\mathbb {E} [f(X_{t+s}-X_{t})g(J_{t+s})|{\mathcal {F}}_{t}]=\mathbb {E} _{J_{t},0}[f(X_{s})g(J_{s})]$.

Example

A fluid queue is a Markov additive process where J(t) is a continuous-time Markov chain.

Applications

Çinlar uses the unique structure of the MAP to prove that, given a gamma process with a shape parameter that is a function of Brownian motion, the resulting lifetime is distributed according to the Weibull distribution.

Kharoufeh presents a compact transform expression for the failure distribution for wear processes of a component degrading according to a Markovian environment inducing state-dependent continuous linear wear by using the properties of a MAP and assuming the wear process to be temporally homogeneous and that the environmental process has a finite state space.