Metrics for Labeled Markov Systems
Josee Desharnais, Vineet Gupta, Radha Jagadeesan, Prakash Panangaden
Abstract
Partial Labeled Markov Chains are simultaneously generalizations of
process algebra and of traditional Markov chains. They provide a
foundation for interacting discrete probabilistic systems, the
interaction being synchronization on labels as in process algebra.
Existing notions of process equivalence are too sensitive to the exact
probabilities of various transitions. This paper addresses
contextual reasoning principles for reasoning about more robust notions of
"approximate" equivalence between concurrent interacting probabilistic systems.
- We develop a family of metrics between partial labeled Markov chains to
formalize the notion of distance between processes.
- We show that processes at distance zero are bisimilar.
- We describe a decision procedure to compute the distance between two processes.
- We show that reasoning about approximate equivalence can be done compositionally
by showing that process combinators do not increase distance.
- We introduce an asymptotic metric to capture asymptotic properties of Markov chains;
and show that parallel composition does not increase asymptotic distance.
© Springer Verlag, 1999. Published in the
Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series.
@InProceedings{metrics-concur99,
author = "Josee Desharnais and Vineet Gupta and Radha Jagadeesan and Prakash Panangaden",
title = "Metrics for Labeled Markov Processes",
booktitle = "Proceedings of CONCUR 99",
editor= "Jos Baeten and Sjouke Mauw",
series = "Lecture Notes in Computer Science",
vol = 1664,
publisher = "Springer Verlag",
year = "1999",
month = "August",
pages = "258-273"
}
Postscript file.