Random matrices: Sharp concentration of eigenvalues

Abstract

Let $W_n= \frac{1}{\sqrt n} M_n$ be a Wigner matrix whose entries have vanishing third moment, normalized so that the spectrum is concentrated in the interval $[-2,2]$. We prove a concentration bound for $N_I = N_I(W_n)$, the number of eigenvalues of $W_n$ in an interval $I$. Our result shows that $N_I$ decays exponentially with standard deviation at most $O(\log^{O(1)} n)$. This is best possible up to the constant exponent in the logarithmic term. As a corollary, the bulk eigenvalues are localized to an interval of width $O(\log^{O(1)} n/n)$; again, this is optimal up to the exponent. These results strengthen recent results of Erdos, Yau and Yin (under the extra assumption of vanishing third