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It is well-known that for a stochastic aperiodic matrix $M$, the sequence $(M^n)_n$ converges.

Here I would like to a have a more precise analysis. Consider now a sequence of stochastic matrices $(M_n)_n$, converging to $M$. We even assume that there exists $0 < \alpha < 1$ such that for all $n$, we have $||M_n - M|| \le \alpha^n$. Is it true that $||M_n^n - M^n||$ converges to $0$?

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    $\begingroup$ @Rodrigo, you are flooding the front page with old questions. $\endgroup$ Jan 29, 2018 at 22:21

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Since your question is about matrices (finite dimension) there is a simple proof. Suppose your matrices are $N\times N$. The key is to note that any column stochastic matrix has norm one as a map on $\mathbb{R}^N$ with the $\ell^1$ norm ($\|(v_1,\ldots,v_N)^T\|_{\ell^1} = \sum_{j=1}^N |v_j|$). Then, since $$M_n^n -M^n = \sum_{k=0}^{n-1} M_n^k (M_n - M ) M^k$$ and any power of a column stochastic matrix is column stochastic, we obtain $$\|M_n^n -M^n\|_{\ell^1 \rightarrow \ell^1} \ \le \ n \|M_n -M\|_{\ell^1 \rightarrow \ell^1}.$$ If you were asking about the $\ell^1$ to $\ell^1$ norm, this would answer your question. (Note that this works even for infinite stochastic matrices.)

Probably you were asking about the operator norm when we take the Euclidean ($\ell^2$) norm on $\mathbb{R}^N$. However, all norms are equivalent in finite dimensions. Explicitly, $$ \|\vec{v}\|_{\ell^2} \le \|\vec{v}\|_{\ell^1} \le \sqrt{N} \|\vec{v}\|_{\ell^2}$$ and so $$ \frac{1}{\sqrt{N}} \| M \|_{\ell^2 \rightarrow \ell^2} \le \|M\|_{\ell^1 \rightarrow \ell^1} \le \sqrt{N} \|M\|_{\ell^2 \rightarrow \ell^2} $$ for any matrix $M$. Thus $$\|M_n^n -M^n\|_{\ell^2 \rightarrow \ell^2} \ \le \ N n \alpha^n,$$ which goes to zero as you would like.

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  • $\begingroup$ Doesn't this answer a different question? I thought, the OP asked about the convergence of $\|M_n^n-M_n\|$ to zero... $\endgroup$
    – Dirk
    May 29, 2014 at 18:52
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you. There were several missing exponents. The argument shows that $\|M_n^n -M^n\|$ converges to zero provided $\|M_n -M\|$ converges to zero faster than $1/n$. $\endgroup$ May 30, 2014 at 4:39
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Chapter 3 of

"Non-negative Matrices and Markov Chains" by E. Seneta, Springer, reprint 2006,

for general non-negative matrices and chapter 4 (especially section 4.3 ff. for the general case) for stochastic matrices seem to be relevant here.

As you have a bound of the form $||M_n - M|| \leq \alpha^n$, where $\alpha \ < 1$, you can probably follow the reasoning beginning on p. 92 there to show, that $M$ has the form $pe^t$ (assuming column stochastic matrices), where $p$ is a probability vector, while $e = (1, \ldots,1)^t$. In that case you find $M^n \ = \ M$.

For all sufficiently large n you can then try to proceed as follows:

As the $M_n$ converge to $M$, their eigenvalue structure will allow to show that $((M_n)^{(n)})^t$ converges to some $\hat{M_n}$ for fixed $n$, and $||((M_n)^n)^t - \hat{M_n}||$ can be bounded in terms of $||((M_n))^t - \hat{M_n}||$.

$||\hat{M_n} - M||$ will be close to zero, maybe under certain extra conditions, because the $M_n$ converge to $M$. The necessary concepts (asymptotic homogenity etc.) seem to be in Seneta.

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  • $\begingroup$ I don't get the first line of your answer. Why the $n^{th}$ powers of the matrices $M_n$ would form a subsequence? It seems to be plain wrong, for instance for $1\times 1$ size, the constant sequence $1/2$ converges to $M=1/2$, but $1/2^n\to 0$ and $M\neq 0$. $\endgroup$
    – Denis
    Mar 29, 2014 at 17:52
  • $\begingroup$ @Denis: You are correct of course, a silly mistake of mine. I have edited accordingly. Seneta's book will still be of help here, I suppose. $\endgroup$ Mar 29, 2014 at 19:25

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