Random telegraph processes with non-local memory

Abstract

We study two-state (dichotomous, telegraph) random ergodic continuous-time processes with dynamics depending on their past. We take into account the history of process in an explicit form by introducing an integral non-local memory term into the conditional probability function. We start from an expression for the conditional transition probability function describing additive multi-step binary random chain and show that the telegraph processes can be considered as continuous-time interpolations of discrete-time dichotomous random sequences. An equation involving the memory function and the two-point correlation function of the telegraph process is analytically obtained. This integral equation defines the correlation properties of the processes with given memory functions. It also serves as a tool for solving the inverse problem, namely for generation of a telegraph process with a prescribed pair correlation function. We obtain analytically the correlation functions of the telegraph processes with two exactly solvable examples of memory functions and support these results by numerical simulations of the corresponding telegraph processes.