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Balint Virag

Publications and source records attributed to Balint Virag.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Random Schrodinger operators on long boxes, noise explosion and the GOE

It is conjectured that the eigenvalues of random Schrodinger operators at the localization transition in dimensions d>=2 behave like the eigenvalues of the Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble (GOE). We show that there are sequences of n by m boxes with 1<<m<<n so that the eigenvalues in low disorder converge to Sine1, the limiting eigenvalue process of the GOE. For the GOE case, this is the first example where Wigner's famous prediction is proven rigorously: we exhibit a complex system whose eigenvalues behave like those of random matrices.

math.PR↗

Kesten's theorem for Invariant Random Subgroups

An invariant random subgroup of the countable group Γ is a random subgroup of Γ whose distribution is invariant under conjugation by all elements of Γ. We prove that for a nonamenable invariant random subgroup H, the spectral radius of every finitely supported random walk on Γ is strictly less than the spectral radius of the corresponding random walk on Γ/H. This generalizes a result of Kesten who proved this for normal subgroups. As a byproduct, we show that for a Cayley graph G of a linear group with no amenable normal subgroups, any sequence of finite quotients of G that spectrally approximates G converges to G in Benjamini-Schramm convergence. In particular, this implies that infinite sequences of finite d-regular Ramanujan Schreier graphs have essentially large girth.

math.GR↗

The scaling limit of the critical one-dimensional random Schrodinger operator

We consider two models of one-dimensional discrete random Schrodinger operators (H_n ψ)_l =ψ_{l-1}+ψ_{l +1}+v_l ψ_l, ψ_0=ψ_{n+1}=0 in the cases v_k=σω_k/\sqrt{n} and v_k=σω_k/ \sqrt{k}. Here ω_k are independent random variables with mean 0 and variance 1. We show that the eigenvectors are delocalized and the transfer matrix evolution has a scaling limit given by a stochastic differential equation. In both cases, eigenvalues near a fixed bulk energy E have a point process limit. We give bounds on the eigenvalue repulsion, large gap probability, identify the limiting intensity and provide a central limit theorem. In the second model, the limiting processes are the same as the point processes obtained as the bulk scaling limits of the beta-ensembles of random matrix theory. In the first model, the eigenvalue repulsion is much stronger.

math.PR↗

Amenability of linear-activity automaton groups

We prove that every linear-activity automaton group is amenable. The proof is based on showing that a sufficiently symmetric random walk on a specially constructed degree 1 automaton group -- the mother group -- has asymptotic entropy 0. Our result answers an open question by Nekrashevich in the Kourovka notebook, and gives a partial answer to a question of Sidki.

math.GR↗

Positive speed for high-degree automaton groups

Mother groups are the basic building blocks for polynomial automaton groups. We show that, in contrast with mother groups of degree 0 or 1, any bounded, symmetric, generating random walk on the mother groups of degree at least 3 has positive speed. The proof is based on an analysis of resistance in fractal mother graphs. We give upper bounds on resistances in these graphs, and show that infinite versions are tran- sient.

math.PR↗

Beta ensembles, stochastic Airy spectrum, and a diffusion

We prove that the largest eigenvalues of the beta ensembles of random matrix theory converge in distribution to the low-lying eigenvalues of the random Schroedinger operator -d^2/dx^2 + x + (2/beta^{1/2}) b_x' restricted to the positive half-line, where b_x' is white noise. In doing so we extend the definition of the Tracy-Widom(beta) distributions to all beta>0, and also analyze their tails. Last, in a parallel development, we provide a second characterization of these laws in terms of a one-dimensional diffusion. The proofs rely on the associated tridiagonal matrix models and a universality result showing that the spectrum of such models converge to that of their continuum operator limit. In particular, we show how Tracy-Widom laws arise from a functional central limit theorem.

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Continuum limits of random matrices and the Brownian carousel

We show that at any location away from the spectral edge, the eigenvalues of the Gaussian unitary ensemble and its general beta siblings converge to Sine_beta, a translation invariant point process. This process has a geometric description in term of the Brownian carousel, a deterministic function of Brownian motion in the hyperbolic plane. The Brownian carousel, a description of the a continuum limit of random matrices, provides a convenient way to analyze the limiting point processes. We show that the gap probability of Sine_beta is continuous in the gap size and $β$, and compute its asymptotics for large gaps. Moreover, the stochastic differential equation version of the Brownian carousel exhibits a phase transition at beta=2.

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The spectrum of the random environment and localization of noise

We consider random walk on a mildly random environment on finite transitive d- regular graphs of increasing girth. After scaling and centering, the analytic spectrum of the transition matrix converges in distribution to a Gaussian noise. An interesting phenomenon occurs at d = 2: as the limit graph changes from a regular tree to the integers, the noise becomes localized.

math.PR↗

On the girth of random Cayley graphs

We prove that random d-regular Cayley graphs of the symmetric group asymptotically almost surely have girth at least (log_{d-1}|G|)^{1/2}/2 and that random d-regular Cayley graphs of simple algebraic groups over F_q asymptotically almost surely have girth at least log_{d-1}|G|/dim(G). For the symmetric p-groups the girth is between log log |G| and (log|G|)^alpha with alpha<1. Several conjectures and open questions are presented.

math.PR↗

Random Sorting Networks

A sorting network is a shortest path from 12...n to n...21 in the Cayley graph of S_n generated by nearest-neighbour swaps. We prove that for a uniform random sorting network, as n->infinity the space-time process of swaps converges to the product of semicircle law and Lebesgue measure. We conjecture that the trajectories of individual particles converge to random sine curves, while the permutation matrix at half-time converges to the projected surface measure of the 2-sphere. We prove that, in the limit, the trajectories are Holder-1/2 continuous, while the support of the permutation matrix lies within a certain octagon. A key tool is a connection with random Young tableaux.

math.PR↗

Complex determinantal processes and H1 noise

For the plane, sphere, and hyperbolic plane we consider the canonical invariant determinantal point processes with intensity rho dnu, where nu is the corresponding invariant measure. We show that as rho converges to infinity, after centering, these processes converge to invariant H1 noise. More precisely, for all functions f in the interesection of H1(nu) and L1(nu) the distribution of sum f(z) - rho/pi integral f dnu converges to Gaussian with mean 0 and variance given by ||f||_H1^2 / (4 pi).

math.PR↗

The noise in the circular law and the Gaussian free field

Fill an n x n matrix with independent complex Gaussians of variance 1/n. As n approaches infinity, the eigenvalues {z_k} converge to a sum of an H^1-noise on the unit disk and an independent H^{1/2}-noise on the unit circle. More precisely, for C^1 functions of suitable growth, the distribution of sum_{k=1}^n (f(z_k)-E f(z_k)) converges to that of a mean-zero Gaussian with variance given by the sum of the squares of the disk H^1 and the circle H^{1/2} norms of f. Moreover, with p_n the characteristic polynomial, log|p_n|- E log|p_n| tends to the planar Gaussian free field conditioned to be harmonic outside the unit disk. Finally, for polynomial test functions f, we prove that the limiting covariance structure is universal for a class of models including Haar distributed unitary matrices.

math.PR↗

Zeros of the i.i.d. Gaussian power series: a conformally invariant determinantal process

Consider the zero set of the random power series f(z)=sum a_n z^n with i.i.d. complex Gaussian coefficients a_n. We show that these zeros form a determinantal process: more precisely, their joint intensity can be written as a minor of the Bergman kernel. We show that the number of zeros of f in a disk of radius r about the origin has the same distribution as the sum of independent {0,1}-valued random variables X_k, where P(X_k=1)=r^{2k}. Moreover, the set of absolute values of the zeros of f has the same distribution as the set {U_k^{1/2k}} where the U_k are i.i.d. random variables uniform in [0,1]. The repulsion between zeros can be studied via a dynamic version where the coefficients perform Brownian motion; we show that this dynamics is conformally invariant.

math.PR↗

Brownian beads

We show that the past and future of half-plane Brownian motion at certain cutpoints are independent of each other after a conformal transformation. Like in Ito's excursion theory, the pieces between cutpoints form a Poisson process with respect to a local time. The size of the path as a function of this local time is a stable subordinator whose index is given by the exponent of the probability that a stretch of the path has no cutpoint. The index is computed and equals 1/2.

math.PR↗

Amenability via random walks

We answer an open question of Grigorchuk and Zuk about amenability using random walks. Our results separate the class of amenable groups from the closure of subexponentially growing groups under the operations of group extension and direct limits; these classes are separated even within the realm of finitely presented groups.

math.GR↗

Dimension and randomness in groups acting on rooted trees

We explore the structure of the p-adic automorphism group Gamma of the infinite rooted regular tree. We determine the asymptotic order of a typical element, answering an old question of Turan. We initiate the study of a general dimension theory of groups acting on rooted trees. We describe the relationship between dimension and other properties of groups such as solvability, existence of dense free subgroups and the normal subgroup structure. We show that subgroups of Gamma generated by three random elements are full-dimensional and that there exist finitely generated subgroups of arbitrary dimension. Specifically, our results solve an open problem of Shalev and answer a question of Sidki.

math.GR↗

Random walks that avoid their past convex hull

We introduce planar random walk conditioned to avoid its past convex hull, and we show that it escapes at a positive limsup speed. Experimental results show that fluctuations from a limiting direction are on the order of n^(3/4). This behavior is also observed for the extremal investor, a natural financial model related to the planar walk.

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Anchored expansion and random walk

This paper studies anchored expansion, a non-uniform version of the strong isoperimetric inequality. We show that every graph with i-anchored expansion contains a subgraph with isoperimetric (Cheeger) constant at least i. We prove a conjecture by Benjamini, Lyons and Schramm (1999) that in such graphs the random walk escapes with a positive lim inf speed. We also show that anchored expansion implies a heat-kernel decay bound of order exp(-c n^1/3).

math.PR↗