pseudogener

Pseudogener is a term found in some mathematical and computational literature describing an entity that imitates a generator but is not the canonical or exact generator defined in theory. The term is not standardized and its meaning varies by source; readers should consult the specific definition used in a given work.

In probability theory and stochastic processes, a pseudogenerator may refer to a discretized or surrogate operator that generates approximate dynamics for a process when the true generator is infinite-dimensional or analytically intractable. Such a pseudogenerator is designed to retain essential structural properties, and error bounds or convergence results are typically established to relate its behavior to that of the true generator as the discretization or modeling parameters are refined.

In numerical analysis and scientific computing, a pseudogenerator can denote a finite-dimensional surrogate for a generator associated with a differential or difference equation, used to facilitate simulation, spectral approximation, or model reduction. The quality of the approximation is assessed via consistency, stability, and convergence studies.

It is important to distinguish the term from pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs), which refer to algorithms that produce sequences of numbers that appear random. A pseudogenerator, by contrast, is about generating a process or operator, not merely numbers, though both ideas may appear in the same modeling task.

Because of its ambiguous usage, when encountering pseudogener it is best to review the exact definition and context in the source material.