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Linear AlgebraHardMarkov Chains & Long-Run Behavior

Markov Chains & Long-Run Behavior · Hard problem

A 55-state Markov chain has this rule: state 11 always moves to state 22, and state 22 always moves back to state 11; state 33 is absorbing; state 44 moves to state 11 or to state 55, each with probability 1/21/2; state 55 moves to state 33 or to state 44, each with probability 1/21/2. How many of the 55 states are recurrent (that is, once the chain is in one of them, it is certain to return to it)?