A result on networks of queues with customer coalescence and state-dependent signaling

In this paper we consider a network of queues with batch services, customer coalescence and state-dependent signaling. That is, customers are served in batches at each node, and coalesce into a single unit upon service completion. There are signals circulating in the network and, when a signal arrives at a node, a batch of customers is either deleted or triggered to move as a single unit within the network. The transition rates for both customers and signals are quite general and can depend on the state of the whole system. We show that this network possesses a product form solution. The existence of a steady state distribution is also discussed. This result generalizes some recent results of Henderson et al. (1994), as well as those of Chao et al. (1996).