Markov Process (Noun)
Meaning
A simple stochastic process in which the distribution of future states depends only on the present state and not on how it arrived in the present state.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- A Markov process can be described using a transition diagram or a transition matrix that displays the probability of moving from one state to another.
- In many cases, a Markov process is used to model the behavior of complex systems that evolve randomly in time.
- Random walk is an example of a Markov process where the next step depends only on the present position.
- The PageRank algorithm uses a Markov process to rank web pages in a web graph where a random surfer jumps from one page to another based on a set of rules.
- The weather can be modeled using a Markov process where each day's weather is dependent only on the previous day's weather.