What is the purpose of using the mod operator in this line of code?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the use of the mod operator (%) in R programming for constructing a transition matrix for a random walk on an n-cycle. Specifically, the line of code tmat[26-i,] <- r1[1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n] utilizes the mod operator to ensure that the indices wrap around when they exceed the matrix dimensions. This technique is crucial for maintaining the cyclic nature of the transition matrix, allowing for proper indexing of the elements in the vector r1.

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user366312
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TL;DR
Kindly explain the highlighted lines.
[CODE title="R code" highlight="7,11"]#==================================================================
# Build the transition matrix for random walk on n-cycle
#------------------------------------------------------------------
n <- 25 # we are creating (nXn) transition matrix
r1 <- c(0, 1/2, rep(0,n-3), 1/2) # create same values 22 times...
tmat <- matrix(0, nrow=n, ncol=n) # create a 0-matrix
tmat[1,] <- r1 # inject values in 'r1' into 'tmat' along the 1st row

for (i in 1:(n-1))
{
tmat[26-i,] <- r1[1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n] # ? mod operator
}
#=================================================================[/CODE]

What are being done in line#11?

How are elements being selected using mod operator?
 
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It really helps to print results and intermediate calculations.
I ran it with this code right after the calculation of r1:
[CODE highlight="R code to print r1 values"]
print("r1")
print( r1 )
[/CODE]
And this at the bottom of the loop:
[CODE title="R print code at bottom of loop"]
print("1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n")
print(1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n)
print("26-i")
print(26-i)
print("tmat")
print(tmat[26-i,])
[/CODE]

The beginning of the print results are:
[CODE title="Start of print results"]
[1] "r1"
[1] 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
[1] "1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n"
[1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1
[1] "26-i"
[1] 25
[1] "tmat"
[1] 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0
[1] "1 + (i:(n+i-1)) %% n"
[1] 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2
[1] "26-i"
[1] 24
[1] "tmat"
[1] 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5
[/CODE]
 
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