Regularities in congruential random number generators

Abstract

This paper suggests, as did an earlier one, [1] that points inn-space produced by congruential random number generators are too regular for general Monte Carlo use. Regularity was established in [1] for multiplicative congruential generators by showing that all the points fall in sets of relatively few parallel hyperplanes. The existence of many containing sets of parallel hyperplanes was easily established, but proof that the number of hyperplanes was small required a result of Minkowski from the geometry of numbers--a symmetric, convex set of volume 2 n must contain at least two points with integral coordinates. The present paper takes a different approach to establishing the coarse lattice structure of congruential generators. It gives a simple, self-contained proof that points inn-space produced by the general congruential generatorr i+1 ?ar i +b modm must fall on a lattice with unit-cell volume at leastm n?1 There is no restriction ona orb; this means thatall congruential random number generators must be considered unsatisfactory in terms of lattices containing the points they produce, for a good generator of random integers should have ann-lattice with unit-cell volume 1.