Mixing of Markov chains - spectral methods

In this thesis, we deal with the upper and lower bounds for the mixing time of reversi- ble homogeneous Markov chains with finite state space and discrete time. The estimates are based on the spectral properties of the transition matrices belonging to these chains. Primarily, we are interested in the eigenvalues of these matrices and how they relate to the rate of convergence. Next we will describe what the product chains and the projecti- ons of Markov chains are. And also that their spectral properties can be easily derived from the properties of the chains on which these chains are built. These properties and estimates are shown on several illustrative examples.