Poisson Process (Graphical)

Statistical Glossary

Poisson Process:

A Poisson process is a random function U(t) which describes the number of random events in an interval [0,t] of time or space.

The random events have the properties that (i) the probability of an event during a very small interval from t to t + h is Math image , (ii) the probability of more than one event during such a time interval is negligible, (iii) the probability of an event during such a time interval does not depend on what happened prior to time t. The constant Math image here is the rate of events - that is, the average number of events on a unit interval.

The distribution of a Poisson process at time t is the Poisson distribution with its parameter Math image equal to Math image .

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