arXiv subjects

François Simenhaus

Publications and source records attributed to François Simenhaus.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Evolution of a passive particle in a one-dimensional diffusive environment

We study the behavior of a tracer particle driven by a one-dimensional fluctuating potential, defined initially as a Brownian motion, and evolving in time according to the heat equation. We obtain two main results. First, in the short time limit, we show that the fluctuations of the particle become Gaussian and sub-diffusive, with dynamical exponent $3/4$. Second, in the long time limit, we show that the particle is trapped by the local minima of the potential and evolves diffusively i.e. with exponent $1/2$.

math.PR↗

arXiv2018

A limit theorem for the survival probability of a simple random walk among power-law renewal traps

We consider a one-dimensional simple random walk surviving among a field of static soft traps : each time it meets a trap the walk is killed with probability 1--e --$β$ , where $β$ is a positive and fixed parameter. The positions of the traps are sampled independently from the walk and according to a renewal process. The increments between consecutive traps, or gaps, are assumed to have a power-law decaying tail with exponent $γ$ > 0. We prove convergence in law for the properly rescaled logarithm of the quenched survival probability as time goes to infinity. The normalization exponent is $γ$/($γ$ + 2), while the limiting law writes as a variational formula with both universal and non-universal features. The latter involves (i) a Poisson point process that emerges as the universal scaling limit of the properly rescaled gaps and (ii) a function of the parameter $β$ that we call asymptotic cost of crossing per trap and that may, in principle, depend on the details of the gap distribution. Our proof suggests a confinement strategy of the walk in a single large gap. This model may also be seen as a (1 + 1)-directed polymer among many repulsive interfaces, in which case $β$ corresponds to the strength of repulsion, the survival probability to the partition function and its logarithm to the finite-volume free energy. Along the way we prove a stochastic monotonicity property for the hitting time of the killed random walk with respect to the non-killed one, that could be of interest in other contexts, see Proposition 3.5.

math.PR↗

arXiv2015

Random walk driven by the simple exclusion process

We prove a strong law of large numbers and an annealed invariance principle for a random walk in a one-dimensional dynamic random environment evolving as the simple exclusion process with jump parameter $γ$. First, we establish that if the asymptotic velocity of the walker is non-zero in the limiting case "$γ= \infty$", where the environment gets fully refreshed between each step of the walker, then, for $γ$ large enough, the walker still has a non-zero asymptotic velocity in the same direction. Second, we establish that if the walker is transient in the limiting case $γ= 0$, then, for $γ$ small enough but positive, the walker has a non-zero asymptotic velocity in the direction of the transience. These two limiting velocities can sometimes be of opposite sign. In all cases, we show that the fluctuations are normal.

math.PR↗

arXiv2010

Polymer dynamics in the depinned phase: metastability with logarithmic barriers

We consider the stochastic evolution of a (1 + 1)-dimensional polymer in the depinned regime. At equilibrium the system exhibits a double well structure: the polymer lies(essentially) either above or below the repulsive line. As a consequence one expects a metastable behavior with rare jumps between the two phases combined with a fast thermalization inside each phase. However the energy barrier between these two phases is only logarithmic in the system size L and therefore the two relevant time scales are only polynomial in L with no clear-cut separation between them. The whole evolution is governed by a subtle competition between the diffusive behavior inside one phase and the jumps across the energy barriers. In particular the usual scenario in which the tunneling time coincides with the exponential of the energy barrier breaks down. Our main results are: (i) a proof that the mixing time of the system lies between L^{5/2} and L^{5/2+2}; (ii) the identification of two regions associated with the positive and negative phase of the polymer together with the proof of the asymptotic exponentiality of the tunneling time between them with rate equal to a half of the spectral gap.

math.PR↗

arXiv2007

Asymptotic direction for random walks in random environments

In this paper we study the property of asymptotic direction for random walks in random i.i.d. environments (RWRE). We prove that if the set of directions where the walk is transient is non empty and open, the walk admits an asymptotic direction. The main tool to obtain this result is the construction of a renewal structure with cones. We also prove that RWRE admits at most two opposite asymptotic directions.

math.PR↗