Exponential and Uniform Ergodicity of Markov Processes

General characterizations of geometric convergence for Markov chains in discrete time on a general state space have been developed recently in considerable detail. Here we develop a similar theory for $\varphi$-irreducible continuous time processes and consider the following types of criteria for geometric convergence: 1. the existence of exponentially bounded hitting times on one and then all suitably "small" sets; 2. the existence of …