A derivation of the master equation from path entropy maximization

作者:Lee Julian*; Presse Steve
来源:Journal of Chemical Physics, 2012, 137(7): 074103.
DOI:10.1063/1.4743955

摘要

The master equation and, more generally, Markov processes are routinely used as models for stochastic processes. They are often justified on the basis of randomization and coarse-graining assumptions. Here instead, we derive nth-order Markov processes and the master equation as unique solutions to an inverse problem. We find that when constraints are not enough to uniquely determine the stochastic model, an nth-order Markov process emerges as the unique maximum entropy solution to this otherwise underdetermined problem. This gives a rigorous alternative for justifying such models while providing a systematic recipe for generalizing widely accepted stochastic models usually assumed to follow from the first principles.

  • 出版日期2012-8-21