Introduction to Matrix Analytic Methods in Stochastic Modeling

Matrix analysis methods are popular as modelling tools because they give one the ability to construct and analyze a wide class of queuing models in a unified and algorithmically tractable way. The authors present the basic mathematical ideas and algorithms of the matrix analytic theory in a readable, up-to-date and comprehensive manner. In the current literature, a mixed bag of techniques is used - some probabilistic, some from linear algebra, and some from transform methods. Here, many new proofs that emphasize the unity of matrix analytic approach are included. Applied probabilists, systems analysts, operations research analysts, applied statisticians, and communication and computer engineers as well as electrical engineers interested in modelling and industrial engineers interested in manufacturing systems should find this book useful. Undergraduate advanced calculus and linear algebra and a course in stochastic processes are necessary prerequisites for understanding the book.