Monte Carlo estimation of total variation distance of Markov chains on large spaces, with application to phylogenetics.

Abstract excerpt

Markov chains are widely used for modeling in many areas of molecular biology and genetics. As the complexity of such models advances, it becomes increasingly important to assess the rate at which a Markov chain converges to its stationary distribution in order to carry out accurate inference. A common measure of convergence to the stationary distribution is the total variation distance, but this measure can be...

Topics

• Algorithms
• Computer Simulation
• Evolution, Molecular
• Genetic Variation
• Markov Chains
• Models, Genetic
• Models, Statistical
• Monte Carlo Method
• Phylogeny