Cycles in random k-ary maps and the poor performance of random number generation

  • Authors:
  • Robin Pemantle

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Mathematics, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Algorithms
  • Year:
  • 2005

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Abstract

Knuth [The Art of Computer Programming, vol. 2: Semi-Numerical Algorithms, 3rd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1997] shows that iterations of a random function perform poorly on average as a random number generator. He proposes a generalization in which the next value depends on two or more previous values. This note demonstrates, via an analysis of the cycle length of a random k-ary map, the equally poor performance of a random instance in Knuth's more general model.