Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:09:49.571Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Uniform renewal theory with applications to expansions of random geometric sums

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2016

J. Blanchet*
Affiliation:
Harvard University
P. Glynn*
Affiliation:
Stanford University
*
Postal address: Statistics Department, Harvard University, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Email address: blanchet@fas.harvard.edu
∗∗ Postal address: Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 380 Panama Way, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Consider a sequence X = (Xn: n ≥ 1) of independent and identically distributed random variables, and an independent geometrically distributed random variable M with parameter p. The random variable SM = X1 + ∙ ∙ ∙ + XM is called a geometric sum. In this paper we obtain asymptotic expansions for the distribution of SM as p ↘ 0. If EX1 > 0, the asymptotic expansion is developed in powers of p and it provides higher-order correction terms to Renyi's theorem, which states that P(pSM > x) ≈ exp(-x/EX1). Conversely, if EX1 = 0 then the expansion is given in powers of √p. We apply the results to obtain corrected diffusion approximations for the M/G/1 queue. These expansions follow in a unified way as a consequence of new uniform renewal theory results that are also developed in this paper.

Type
General Applied Probability
Copyright
Copyright © Applied Probability Trust 2007 

References

Abate, J., Choudhury, G. L. and Whitt, W. (1995). Exponential approximations for tail probabilities in queues. I. Waiting times. Operat. Res. 43, 885901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldous, D. (1989). Probability Approximations via the Poisson Clumping Heuristic. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Asmussen, S. (1984). Approximations for the probability of ruin within finite time. Scand. Actuarial J. 1984, 3157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asmussen, S. (2001). Ruin Probabilities. World Scientific, Singapore.Google Scholar
Asmussen, S. (2003). Applied Probability and Queues. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Asmussen, S. and Binswanger, K. (1997). Simulation of ruin probabilities for subexponential claims. Astin Bull. 27, 297318.Google Scholar
Blanchet, J. and Glynn, P. (2006). Corrected diffusion approximations for the maximum of light-tailed random walk. Ann. App. Prob. 16, 951953.Google Scholar
Blanchet, J. and Glynn, P. (2007). Cramer–Lundberg approximations in the absence of exponential moments: a heavy-traffic perspective. In preparation.Google Scholar
Borovkov, A. and Foss, S. (2000). Estimates for overshooting and arbitrary boundary by a random walk and their applications. Theory Prob. Appl. 44, 231253.Google Scholar
Carlsson, H. (1983). Remainder term estimates of the renewal function. Ann. Prob. 11, 143157.Google Scholar
Chang, J. and Peres, Y. (1997). Ladder heights, Gaussian random walks and the Riemann zeta function. Ann. Prob. 25, 787802.Google Scholar
Durrett, R. (2005). Probability: Theory and Examples. Duxbury, New York.Google Scholar
Fuh, C. D. (2004). Uniform Markov renewal theory and ruin probabilities in Markov random walks. Ann. Appl. Prob. 14, 12021241.Google Scholar
Ganelius, T. H. (1971). Tauberian Reminder Theorems (Lecture Notes Math. 232). Springer, Berlin.Google Scholar
Hogan, M. L. (1986). Comment on: ‘Corrected diffusion approximations in certain random walk problems’. J. Appl. Prob. 23, 8996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalashnikov, V. (1997). Geometric Sums: Bounds for Rare Events with Applications. Kluwer, Dordrecht.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keilson, J. (1979). Rarity and Exponentiality. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Siegmund, D. (1979). Corrected diffusion approximations in certain random walk problems. Adv. Appl. Prob. 11, 701719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegmund, D. (1985). Sequential Analysis. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Stone, C. (1965). On moment generating functions and renewal theory. Ann. Math. Statist. 36, 12981301.Google Scholar