KPZ line ensemble

Abstract

For each $t\geq 1$ we construct an $\mathbf{N}$-indexed ensemble of random continuous curves with three properties: 1. The lowest indexed curve is distributed as the time $t$ Hopf-Cole solution to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) stochastic PDE with narrow wedge initial data; 2. The entire ensemble satisfies a resampling invariance which we call the $\mathbf{H}$-Brownian Gibbs property (with $\mathbf{H}(x)=e^{x}$); 3. Increments of the lowest indexed curve, when centered by $-t/24$ and scaled down vertically by $t^{1/3}$ and horizontally by $t^{2/3}$, remain uniformly absolutely continuous (i.e. have tight Radon-Nikodym derivatives) with respect to Brownian bridges as time $t$ goes to infinity. This construction uses as inputs the diffusion that O'Connell discovered in relation to the O'Connell-Yor semi-discrete Brownian polymer, the convergence result of Nica of the lowest indexed curve of that diffusion to the solution of the KPZ equation with narrow wedge initial data, and the one-point distribution formula proved by Amir-Corwin-Quastel for the solution of the KPZ equation with narrow wedge initial data. We provide four main applications of this construction: 1. Uniform (as $t$ goes to infinity) Brownian absolute continuity of the time $t$ solution to the KPZ equation with narrow wedge initial data, even when scaled vertically by $t^{1/3}$ and horizontally by $t^{2/3}$; 2. Universality of the $t^{1/3}$ one-point (vertical) fluctuation scale for the solution of the KPZ equation with general initial data; 3. Concentration in the $t^{2/3}$ scale for the endpoint of the continuum directed random polymer; 4.Exponential upper and lower tail bounds for the solution at fixed time of the KPZ equation with general initial data.