In
probability theory, in particular in the study of
stochastic processes, a
stopping time (also
Markov time) is a specific type of “random time”: a
random variable whose value is interpreted as the time at which a given stochastic process exhibits a certain behavior of interest. A stopping time is often defined by a
stopping rule, a mechanism for deciding whether to continue or stop a process on the basis of the present position and past events, and which will
almost always lead to a decision to stop at some finite time.