In
probability theory, a
stochastic process, or often
random process, is a collection of
random variables, representing the evolution of some
system of random values over time. This is the probabilistic counterpart to a deterministic process (or
deterministic system). Instead of describing a process which can only evolve in one way (as in the case, for example, of solutions of an
ordinary differential equation), in a stochastic or random process there is some indeterminacy: even if the initial condition (or starting point) is known, there are several (often infinitely many) directions in which the process may evolve.