Random walks on networks: cumulative distribution of cover time

Abstract

We derive an exact closed-form analytical expression for the distribution of the cover time for a random walk over an arbitrary graph. In special case, we derive simplified exact expressions for the distributions of cover time for a complete graph, a cycle graph, and a path graph. An accurate approximation for the cover time distribution, with computational complexity of O(2n), is also presented. The approximation is numerically tested only for graphs with n<=1000 nodes.