The aim of this paper is to solve the basic stochastic shortest-path problem (SSPP) for Markov chains (MCs) with countable state space and then apply the results to a class of nearest-neighbor MCs on the lattice state space <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$$\mathbb Z \times \mathbb Z $$</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> whose only moves are one step up,...</equationsource></inlineequation>

The aim of this paper is to solve the basic stochastic shortest-path problem (SSPP) for Markov chains (MCs) with countable state space and then apply the results to a class of nearest-neighbor MCs on the lattice state space $$\mathbb Z \times \mathbb Z $$ whose only moves are one step up, down,...