Random Field

A random field is a generalization of a stochastic process such that the underlying parameter need no longer be a simple real or integer valued "time", but can instead take values that are multidimensional vectors, or points on some manifold.

At its most basic, discrete case, a random field is a list of random numbers whose indices are mapped onto a space (of n dimensions). Values in a random field are usually spatially correlated in one way or another. In its most basic form this might mean that adjacent values (i.e. values with adjacent indices) do not differ as much as values that are further apart. This is an example of a covariance structure, many different types of which may be modeled in a random field. More generally, the values might be defined over a continuous domain, and the random field might be thought of as a "function valued" random variable.

Read more about Random Field:  Definition and Examples, Applications

Famous quotes containing the words random and/or field:

    It is a secret from nobody that the famous random event is most likely to arise from those parts of the world where the old adage “There is no alternative to victory” retains a high degree of plausibility.
    Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)

    I learn immediately from any speaker how much he has already lived, through the poverty or the splendor of his speech. Life lies behind us as the quarry from whence we get tiles and copestones for the masonry of today. This is the way to learn grammar. Colleges and books only copy the language which the field and the work-yard made.
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