Reversible Markov kernels and involutions on product spaces

Abstract

In this paper the relations between independence preserving (IP) involutions and reversible Markov kernels are investigated. We introduce an involutive augmentation H = (f, g_f) of a measurable function f and relate the IP property of H to f-generated reversible Markov kernels. Various examples appeared in the literature are presented as particular cases of the construction. In particular, we prove that the IP property generated by the (reversible) Markov kernel of random walk with a reflecting barrier at the origin characterizes geometric-type laws