Limit laws are proven by the contraction method for random vectors of a recursive nature as they arise as parameters of combinatorial structures such as random trees or recursive algorithms, where we use the Zolotarev metric. In comparison to previous applications of this method, a general transfer theorem is derived which allows us to establish a limit law on the basis of the recursive structure and to use the asymptotics of the first and second moments of the sequence. In particular, a general asymptotic normality result is obtained by this theorem which typically cannot be handled by the more common ℓ2 metrics. As applications we derive quite automatically many asymptotic limit results ranging from the size of tries or m-ary search trees and path lengths in digital structures to mergesort and parameters of random recursive trees, which were previously shown by different methods one by one. We also obtain a related local density approximation result as well as a global approximation result. For the proofs of these results we establish that a smoothed density distance as well as a smoothed total variation distance can be estimated from above by the Zolotarev metric, which is the main tool in this article.

An algorithm is developed for the exact simulation from distributions that are defined as fixed-points of maps between spaces of probability measures. The fixed-points of the class of maps under consideration include examples of limit distributions of random variables studied in the probabilistic analysis of algorithms. Approximating sequences for the densities of the fixedpoints with explicit error bounds are constructed. The sampling algorithm relies on a modified rejection method. AMS subject classifications. Primary: 65C10; secondary: 65C05, 68U20, 11K45.

We take a multivariate view of digital search trees by studying the number of nodes of di#erent types that may coexist in a bucket digital search tree as it grows under an arbitrary memory management system. We obtain the mean of each type of node, as well as the entire covariance matrix between types, whereupon weak laws of large numbers follow from the orders of magnitude (the norming constants include oscillating functions). The result can be easily interpreted for practical systems like paging, heaps and UNIX's buddy system. The covariance results call for developing a Mellin convolution method, where convoluted numerical sequences are handled by convolutions of their Mellin transforms. Furthermore, we use a method of moments to show that the distribution is asymptotically normal. The method of proof is of some generality and is applicable to other parameters like path length and size in random tries and Patricia tries.

We propose and analyze an algorithm to approximate distribution functions and densities of perpetuities. Our algorithm refines an earlier approach based on iterating discretized versions of the fixed point equation that defines the perpetuity. We significantly reduce the complexity of the earlier algorithm. Also one particular perpetuity arising in the analysis of the selection algorithm Quickselect is studied in more detail. Our approach works well for distribution functions. For densities we have weaker error bounds although computer experiments indicate that densities can also be well approximated.

Abstract. We consider weighted path lengths to the extremal leaves in a random binary search tree. When linearly scaled, the weighted path length to the minimal label has Dickman’s infinitely divisible distribution as a limit. By contrast, the weighted path length to the maximal label needs to be centered and scaled to converge to a standard normal variate in distribution. The exercise shows that path lengths associated with different ranks exhibit different behaviors depending on the rank. However, the majority of the ranks have a weighted path length with average behavior similar to that of the weighted path to the maximal node.

Most previous studies of the sorting algorithm QuickSort have used the number of key comparisons as a measure of the cost of executing the algorithm. Here we suppose that the n independent and identically distributed (iid) keys are each represented as a sequence of symbols from a probabilistic source and that QuickSort operates on individual symbols, and we measure the execution cost as the number of symbol comparisons. Assuming only a mild “tameness ” condition on the source, we show that there is a limiting distribution for the number of symbol comparisons after normalization: first centering by the mean and then dividing by n. Additionally, under a condition that grows more restrictive as p increases, we have convergence of moments of orders p and smaller. In particular, we have convergence in distribution and convergence of moments of every order whenever the source is memoryless, i.e., whenever each key is generated as an infinite string of iid symbols. This is somewhat surprising: Even for the classical model that each key is an iid string of unbiased (“fair”) bits, the mean exhibits periodic fluctuations of order n.

Abstract. In this paper, we give a simple algorithm for sampling from the Dickman distribution. It is based on coupling from the past with a suitable dominating Markov chain.

We survey multivariate limit theorems in the framework of the contraction method for recursive sequences as arising in the analysis of algorithms, random trees or branching processes. We compare and improve various general conditions under which limit laws can be obtained, state related open problems and give applications to the analysis of algorithms and branching recurrences.

An algorithm is developed for the exact simulation from distributions that are defined as fixed-points of maps between spaces of probability measures. The fixed-points of the class of maps under consideration include examples of limit distributions of random variables studied in the probabilistic analysis of algorithms. The sampling algorithm relies on a modified rejection method.

We take a multivariate view of digital search trees by studying the number of nodes of di#erent types that may coexist in a bucket digital search tree as it grows under an arbitrary memory management system. We obtain the mean of each type of node, as well as the entire covariance matrix between types, whereupon weak laws of large numbers follow from the orders of magnitude (the norming constants include oscillating functions). The result can be easily interpreted for practical systems like paging, heaps and UNIX's buddy system. The covariance results call for developing a Mellin convolution method, where convoluted numerical sequences are handled by convolutions of their Mellin transforms. Furthermore, we use a method of moments to show that the distribution is asymptotically normal. The method of proof is of some generality and is applicable to other parameters like path length and size in random tries and Patricia tries.