Method of images for one-dimensional discrete random walk under a reflecting barrier

Abstract

The transition probability for a one-dimensional discrete symmetric random walk under a reflecting barrier was once given by the method of images. [S. Chandrasekhar, Rev. Mod. Phys. 15, 1 (1943).] However, several inconsistencies have been reported when the method of images is applied in cases where a reflecting barrier is considered, even after the exact solution has been obtained. Here, we explicitly show that the method of images becomes applicable if the image position is shifted.