Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-190) and index.

6.3 Random Switching Between Vector Fields -- 6.3.1 The Weak Bracket Condition -- 6.4 Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes -- 6.4.1 Invariant Measures -- 6.4.2 The Strong Bracket Condition -- 6.5 Stochastic Differential Equations -- 6.5.1 Accessibility -- 6.5.2 Hörmander Conditions -- Notes -- 7 Harris and Positive Recurrence -- 7.1 Stability and Positive Recurrence -- 7.2 Harris Recurrence -- 7.2.1 Petite Sets and Harris Recurrence -- 7.3 Recurrence Criteria and Lyapunov Functions -- 7.4 Subsets of Recurrent Sets -- 7.5 Petite Sets and Positive Recurrence -- 7.6 Positive Recurrence for Feller Chains -- 7.6.1 Application to PDMPs -- 7.6.2 Application to SDEs -- 8 Harris Ergodic Theorem -- 8.1 Total Variation Distance -- 8.1.1 Coupling -- 8.2 Harris Convergence Theorems -- 8.2.1 Geometric Convergence -- Aperiodic Small Sets -- 8.2.2 Continuous Time: Exponential Convergence -- 8.2.3 Coupling, Splitting, and Polynomial Convergence -- 8.3 Convergence in Wasserstein Distance -- A Monotone Class and Martingales -- A.1 Monotone Class Theorem -- A.2 Conditional Expectation -- A.3 Martingales -- Bibliography -- List of Symbols -- List of Symbols -- Index.

"This book gives an introduction to discrete-time Markov chains which evolve on a separable metric space. The focus is on the ergodic properties of such chains, i.e., on their long-term statistical behaviour. Among the main topics are existence and uniqueness of invariant probability measures, irreducibility, recurrence, regularizing properties for Markov kernels, and convergence to equilibrium. These concepts are investigated with tools such as Lyapunov functions, petite and small sets, Doeblin and accessible points, coupling, as well as key notions from classical ergodic theory. The theory is illustrated through several recurring classes of examples, e.g., random contractions, randomly switched vector fields, and stochastic differential equations, the latter providing a bridge to continuous-time Markov processes. The book can serve as the core for a semester- or year-long graduate course in probability theory with an emphasis on Markov chains or random dynamics. Some of the material is also well suited for an ergodic theory course. Readers should have taken an introductory course on probability theory, based on measure theory. While there is a chapter devoted to chains on a countable state space, a certain familiarity with Markov chains on a finite state space is also recommended"--Back cover.