Let l and m be natural numbers with l≥2 and m≥1, let β be a transition-rate family on l states with control dimension m and rate bound B, let Δl⊂Rl be the probability simplex, and let K≥0 be a real number. Points of Rl×Rm are written x=(Σ,α) and identified with points of Euclidean space Rl+m, with coordinates x1,…,xl+m, so that xγ=Σγ for γ≤l and xl+j=αj for j≤m. For a real-valued function f on an open subset of Rl+m we write ∂if for the partial derivative of f with respect to the coordinate xi, and ∂j∂if for ∂j applied to the function ∂if.
A pair (U,βˉ) is a twice continuously differentiable extension of the transition-rate family β with derivative bound K if it consists of an open set U⊆Rl with Δl⊂U and a family of functions βˉ(σ,γ,⋅,⋅):U×Rm→R, indexed by the ordered pairs (σ,γ) with σ,γ∈{1,…,l} and σ=γ, such that for every such pair:
1. (Extension.) βˉ(σ,γ,Σ,α)=β(σ,γ,Σ,α) for all (Σ,α)∈Δl×Rm.
2. (Regularity.) βˉ(σ,γ,⋅,⋅) is a C1 map on the open set U×Rm, and for every i∈{1,…,l+m} the partial derivative ∂iβˉ(σ,γ,⋅,⋅) is again a C1 map on U×Rm.
3. (Derivative bounds.) ∣∂iβˉ(σ,γ,x)∣≤K and ∣∂j∂iβˉ(σ,γ,x)∣≤K for all i,j∈{1,…,l+m} and all x∈U×Rm.
4. (Uniform continuity of second derivatives.) For every real ε>0 there is a real δ>0 such that ∣∂j∂iβˉ(σ,γ,x)−∂j∂iβˉ(σ,γ,y)∣≤ε for all i,j∈{1,…,l+m} and all x,y∈U×Rm whose Euclidean distance satisfies d(x,y)≤δ.