Limit theorems for iterated random topical operators

Abstract

Let A(n) be a sequence of i.i.d. topical (i.e. isotone and additively homogeneous) operators. Let $x(n,x_0)$ be defined by $x(0,x_0)=x_0$ and $x(n,x_0)=A(n)x(n-1,x_0)$. This can modelize a wide range of systems including, task graphs, train networks, Job-Shop, timed digital circuits or parallel processing systems. When A(n) has the memory loss property, we use the spectral gap method to prove limit theorems for $x(n,x_0)$. Roughly speaking, we show that $x(n,x_0)$ behaves like a sum of i.i.d. real variables. Precisely, we show that with suitable additional conditions, it satisfies a central limit theorem with rate, a local limit theorem, a renewal theorem and a large deviations principle, and we give an algebraic condition to ensure the positivity of the variance in the CLT. When A(n) are defined by matrices in the \mp semi-ring, we give more effective statements and show that the additional conditions and the positivity of the variance in the CLT are generic.