Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Markov chain

Markov chain

9.1
A system where each next step depends only on the current step
  • noun
  • /ˈmɑrkɒv tʃeɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cadena de Markov
  • In this section, we will survey some research on music generation using grammatical inference, Markov chains, and artificial neural networks.
  • Markov chain Monte Carlo
  • Markov chain Monte
  • using a Markov chain

It turns out that we discovered Justin this year a a new order on Markov chains that no one had ever discovered before.

Examples

  • A Markov chain is used to model the weather, where tomorrow's weather depends only on today's conditions.

  • In an order-n Markov chain, the next state depends on the last n states.

    Academic text (2018)

  • And along with each state in the Markov chain, there's a holding time.

  • A large number of Markov chains can be combined to create a transition probability matrix.

    Academic text (1996)

  • OK, so one innovation that my research group has been working on in the last year is an alternate Markov chain called recombination.

  • Drought characteristics are investigated through the Markov chains.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Furthermore, the Markov chains have been shown to be useful in understanding the stochastic characteristics of drought.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Then, by using the weighted Markov chains, the drought severities in 2013-2016 are predicted.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The Markov chain is run for 10,000 iterations, and every tenth draw is retained to arrive at the posterior estimates.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Markov chains are stochastic processes transitioning in discrete time steps through a finite set of states.

    Academic text (2018)

Synonyms

Markoff process
vsMarkov chain
  • Specialized
9.9

A random system where what happens next depends only on the present, not on the past

is the modern spelling rather than the older alternate form
Markov process
vsMarkov chain
  • Specialized
8.1

A process where the next state depends only on the current one

is the discrete step version that focuses on steps rather than continuous cases

Surface Forms

Markov chain singular
Markov chains plural

Morphology

Markov + chain

This is an eponymous technical term: 'Markov' is a proper name and supplies no semantic clue about the defining property, while 'chain' only suggests a sequence or linked items. The crucial idea that transitions depend only on the current state (the memoryless/ stochastic property) cannot be derived from the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not infer the full meaning.

Etymology

Markov chain is named after the Russian mathematician Markov and uses the picture of a linked chain of steps. So, it means a process where 'each step depends only on the one before'.