A sequence of real numbers (xn) is Benford if the significands, i.e. the fraction parts in the floating-point representation of (xn), are distributed logarithmically. Similarly, a discrete-time irreducible and aperiodic finite-state Markov chain with probability transition matrix P and limiting...

There are various importance sampling schemes to estimate rare event probabilities in Markovian systems such as Markovian reliability models and Jackson networks. In this work, we present a general state dependent importance sampling method which partitions the state space and applies the...

This paper applies importance sampling simulation for estimating rare event probabilities of the first passage time in the infinite server queue with renewal arrivals and general service time distributions. We consider importance sampling algorithms which are based on large deviations results of...

We develop a methodology for studying ''large deviations type'' questions. Our approach does not require that the large deviations principle holds, and is thus applicable to a larg class of systems. We study a system of queues with exponential servers, which share an arrival stream. Arrivals are...

There are various importance sampling schemes to estimate rare event probabilities in Markovian systems such as Markovian reliability models and Jackson networks. In this work, we present a general state-dependent importance sampling method which partitions the state space and applies the...

A sequence of real numbers (<I>x_n</I>) is Benford if the significands, i.e. the fraction

A version of the classical secretary problem is studied, in which one is interested in selecting one of the <I>b</I> best out of a group of <I>n</I> differently ranked persons who are presented one by one in a random order. It is assumed that <I>b</I> is bigger than or equal to 1 is a preassigned number. It is...</i></i></i>

This paper reports simulation experiments, applying the cross entropy method such as the importance sampling algorithm for efficient estimation of rare event probabilities in Markovian reliability systems. The method is compared to various failure biasing schemes that have been proved to give...

We develop a methodology for studying “large deviations type” questions. Our approach does not require that the large deviations principle holds, and is thus applicable to a large class of systems. We study a system of queues with exponential servers, which share an arrival stream. Arrivals...