arXiv subjects

Gregory Schehr

Publications and source records attributed to Gregory Schehr.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Generating discrete-time constrained random walks and Lévy flights

We introduce a method to exactly generate bridge trajectories for discrete-time random walks, with arbitrary jump distributions, that are constrained to initially start at the origin and return to the origin after a fixed time. The method is based on an effective jump distribution that implicitly accounts for the bridge constraint. It is illustrated on various jump distributions and is shown to be very efficient in practice. In addition, we show how to generalize the method to other types of constrained random walks such as generalized bridges, excursions, and meanders.

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arXiv2021

Distribution of the time of the maximum for stationary processes

We consider a one-dimensional stationary stochastic process $x(τ)$ of duration $T$. We study the probability density function (PDF) $P(t_{\rm m}|T)$ of the time $t_{\rm m}$ at which $x(τ)$ reaches its global maximum. By using a path integral method, we compute $P(t_{\rm m}|T)$ for a number of equilibrium and nonequilibrium stationary processes, including the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, Brownian motion with stochastic resetting and a single confined run-and-tumble particle. For a large class of equilibrium stationary processes that correspond to diffusion in a confining potential, we show that the scaled distribution $P(t_{\rm m}|T)$, for large $T$, has a universal form (independent of the details of the potential). This universal distribution is uniform in the ``bulk'', i.e., for $0 \ll t_{\rm m} \ll T$ and has a nontrivial edge scaling behavior for $t_{\rm m} \to 0$ (and when $t_{\rm m} \to T$), that we compute exactly. Moreover, we show that for any equilibrium process the PDF $P(t_{\rm m}|T)$ is symmetric around $t_{\rm m}=T/2$, i.e., $P(t_{\rm m}|T)=P(T-t_{\rm m}|T)$. This symmetry provides a simple method to decide whether a given stationary time series $x(τ)$ is at equilibrium or not.

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arXiv2021

Harmonically confined long-ranged interacting gas in the presence of a hard wall

In this paper, we compute exactly the average density of a harmonically confined Riesz gas of $N$ particles for large $N$ in the presence of a hard wall. In this Riesz gas, the particles repel each other via a pairwise interaction that behaves as $|x_i - x_j|^{-k}$ for $k>-2$, with $x_i$ denoting the position of the $i^{\rm th}$ particle. This density can be classified into three different regimes of $k$. For $k \geq 1$, where the interactions are effectively short-ranged, the appropriately scaled density has a finite support over $[-l_k(w),w]$ where $w$ is the scaled position of the wall. While the density vanishes at the left edge of the support, it approaches a nonzero constant at the right edge $w$. For $-1<k<1$, where the interactions are weakly long-ranged, we find that the scaled density is again supported over $[-l_k(w),w]$. While it still vanishes at the left edge of the support, it diverges at the right edge $w$ algebraically with an exponent $(k-1)/2$. For $-2<k< -1$, the interactions are strongly long-ranged that leads to a rather exotic density profile with an extended bulk part and a delta-peak at the wall, separated by a hole in between. Exactly at $k=-1$ the hole disappears. For $-2<k< -1$, we find an interesting first-order phase transition when the scaled position of the wall decreases through a critical value $w=w^*(k)$. For $w<w^*(k)$, the density is a pure delta-peak located at the wall. The amplitude of the delta-peak plays the role of an order parameter which jumps to the value $1$ as $w$ is decreased through $w^*(k)$. Our analytical results are in very good agreement with our Monte-Carlo simulations.

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arXiv2021

Universal record statistics for random walks and Lévy flights with a nonzero staying probability

We compute exactly the statistics of the number of records in a discrete-time random walk model on a line where the walker stays at a given position with a nonzero probability $0\leq p \leq 1$, while with the complementary probability $1-p$, it jumps to a new position with a jump length drawn from a continuous and symmetric distribution $f_0(η)$. We have shown that, for arbitrary $p$, the statistics of records up to step $N$ is completely universal, i.e., independent of $f_0(η)$ for any $N$. We also compute the connected two-time correlation function $C_p(m_1, m_2)$ of the record-breaking events at times $m_1$ and $m_2$ and show it is also universal for all $p$. Moreover, we demonstrate that $C_p(m_1, m_2)< C_0(m_1, m_2)$ for all $p>0$, indicating that a nonzero $p$ induces additional anti-correlations between record events. We further show that these anti-correlations lead to a drastic reduction in the fluctuations of the record numbers with increasing $p$. This is manifest in the Fano factor, i.e. the ratio of the variance and the mean of the record number, which we compute explicitly. We also show that an interesting scaling limit emerges when $p \to 1$, $N \to \infty$ with the product $t = (1-p)\, N$ fixed. We compute exactly the associated universal scaling functions for the mean, variance and the Fano factor of the number of records in this scaling limit. .

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arXiv2021

Generating constrained run-and-tumble trajectories

We propose a method to exactly generate bridge run-and-tumble trajectories that are constrained to start at the origin with a given velocity and to return to the origin after a fixed time with another given velocity. The method extends the concept of effective Langevin equations, valid for Markovian stochastic processes such as Brownian motion, to a non-Markovian stochastic process driven by a telegraphic noise, with exponentially decaying correlations. We obtain effective space-time dependent tumbling rates that implicitly accounts for the bridge constraint. We extend the method to other types of constrained run-and-tumble particles such as excursions and meanders. The method is implemented numerically and is shown to be very efficient.

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arXiv2021

Stationary nonequilibrium bound state of a pair of run and tumble particles

We study two interacting identical run and tumble particles (RTP's) in one dimension. Each particle is driven by a telegraphic noise, and in some cases, also subjected to a thermal white noise with a corresponding diffusion constant $D$. We are interested in the stationary bound state formed by the two RTP's in the presence of a mutual attractive interaction. The distribution of the relative coordinate $y$ indeed reaches a steady state that we characterize in terms of the solution of a second-order differential equation. We obtain the explicit formula for the stationary probability $P(y)$ of $y$ for two examples of interaction potential $V(y)$. The first one corresponds to $V(y) \sim |y|$. In this case, for $D=0$ we find that $P(y)$ contains a delta function part at $y=0$, signaling a strong clustering effect, together with a smooth exponential component. For $D>0$, the delta function part broadens, leading instead to weak clustering. The second example is the harmonic attraction $V(y) \sim y^2$ in which case, for $D=0$, $P(y)$ is supported on a finite interval. We unveil an interesting relation between this two-RTP model with harmonic attraction and a three-state single RTP model in one dimension, as well as with a four-state single RTP model in two dimensions. We also provide a general discussion of the stationary bound state, including examples where it is not unique, e.g., when the particles cannot cross due to an additional short-range repulsion.

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arXiv2021

Expected maximum of bridge random walks & Lévy flights

We consider one-dimensional discrete-time random walks (RWs) with arbitrary symmetric and continuous jump distributions $f(η)$, including the case of Lévy flights. We study the expected maximum ${\mathbb E}[M_n]$ of bridge RWs, i.e., RWs starting and ending at the origin after $n$ steps. We obtain an exact analytical expression for ${\mathbb E}[M_n]$ valid for any $n$ and jump distribution $f(η)$, which we then analyze in the large $n$ limit up to second leading order term. For jump distributions whose Fourier transform behaves, for small $k$, as $\hat f(k) \sim 1 - |a\, k|^μ$ with a Lévy index $0<μ\leq 2$ and an arbitrary length scale $a>0$, we find that, at leading order for large $n$, ${\mathbb E}[M_n]\sim a\, h_1(μ)\, n^{1/μ}$. We obtain an explicit expression for the amplitude $h_1(μ)$ and find that it carries the signature of the bridge condition, being different from its counterpart for the free random walk. For $μ=2$, we find that the second leading order term is a constant, which, quite remarkably, is the same as its counterpart for the free RW. For generic $0< μ< 2$, this second leading order term is a growing function of $n$, which depends non-trivially on further details of $\hat f (k)$, beyond the Lévy index $μ$. Finally, we apply our results to compute the mean perimeter of the convex hull of the $2d$ Rouse polymer chain and of the $2d$ run-and-tumble particle, as well as to the computation of the survival probability in a bridge version of the well-known "lamb-lion" capture problem.

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arXiv2021

Wigner function for noninteracting fermions in hard wall potentials

The Wigner function $W_N({\bf x}, {\bf p})$ is a useful quantity to characterize the quantum fluctuations of an $N$-body system in its phase space. Here we study $W_N({\bf x}, {\bf p})$ for $N$ noninteracting spinless fermions in a $d$-dimensional spherical hard box of radius $R$ at temperature $T=0$. In the large $N$ limit, the local density approximation (LDA) predicts that $W_N({\bf x}, {\bf p}) \approx 1/(2 π\hbar)^d$ inside a finite region of the $({\bf x}, {\bf p})$ plane, namely for $|{\bf x}| < R$ and $|{\bf p}| < k_F$ where $k_F$ is the Fermi momentum, while $W_N({\bf x}, {\bf p})$ vanishes outside this region, or "droplet", on a scale determined by quantum fluctuations. In this paper we investigate systematically, in this quantum region, the structure of the Wigner function along the edge of this droplet, called the Fermi surf. In one dimension, we find that there are three distinct edge regions along the Fermi surf and we compute exactly the associated nontrivial scaling functions in each regime. We also study the momentum distribution $\hat ρ_N(p)$ and find a striking algebraic tail for very large momenta $\hat ρ_N(p) \propto 1/p^4$, well beyond $k_F$, reminiscent of a similar tail found in interacting quantum systems (discussed in the context of Tan's relation). We then generalize these results to higher $d$ and find, remarkably, that the scaling function close to the edge of the box is universal, i.e., independent of the dimension~$d$.

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arXiv2021

Hole probability for noninteracting fermions in a $d$-dimensional trap

The hole probability, i.e., the probability that a region is void of particles, is a benchmark of correlations in many body systems. We compute analytically this probability $P(R)$ for a spherical region of radius $R$ in the case of $N$ noninteracting fermions in their ground state in a $d$-dimensional trapping potential. Using a connection to the Laguerre-Wishart ensembles of random matrices, we show that, for large $N$ and in the bulk of the Fermi gas, $P(R)$ is described by a universal scaling function of $k_F R$, for which we obtain an exact formula ($k_F$ being the local Fermi wave-vector). It exhibits a super exponential tail $P(R)\propto e^{- κ_d (k_F R)^{d+1}}$ where $κ_d$ is a universal amplitude, in good agreement with existing numerical simulations. When $R$ is of the order of the radius of the Fermi gas, the hole probability is described by a large deviation form which is not universal and which we compute exactly for the harmonic potential. Similar results also hold in momentum space.

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arXiv2021

Counting statistics for non-interacting fermions in a $d$-dimensional potential

We develop a first-principle approach to compute the counting statistics in the ground-state of $N$ noninteracting spinless fermions in a general potential in arbitrary dimensions $d$ (central for $d>1$). In a confining potential, the Fermi gas is supported over a bounded domain. In $d=1$, for specific potentials, this system is related to standard random matrix ensembles. We study the quantum fluctuations of the number of fermions ${\cal N}_{\cal D}$ in a domain $\cal{D}$ of macroscopic size in the bulk of the support. We show that the variance of ${\cal N}_{\cal D}$ grows as $N^{(d-1)/d} (A_d \log N + B_d)$ for large $N$, and obtain the explicit dependence of $A_d, B_d$ on the potential and on the size of ${\cal D}$ (for a spherical domain in $d>1$). This generalizes the free-fermion results for microscopic domains, given in $d=1$ by the Dyson-Mehta asymptotics from random matrix theory. This leads us to conjecture similar asymptotics for the entanglement entropy of the subsystem $\cal{D}$, in any dimension, supported by exact results for $d=1$.

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arXiv2021

Condensation transition in the late-time position of a Run-and-Tumble particle

We study the position distribution $P(\vec{R},N)$ of a run-and-tumble particle (RTP) in arbitrary dimension $d$, after $N$ runs. We assume that the constant speed $v>0$ of the particle during each running phase is independently drawn from a probability distribution $W(v)$ and that the direction of the particle is chosen isotropically after each tumbling. The position distribution is clearly isotropic, $P(\vec{R},N)\to P(R,N)$ where $R=|\vec{R}|$. We show that, under certain conditions on $d$ and $W(v)$ and for large $N$, a condensation transition occurs at some critical value of $R=R_c\sim O(N)$ located in the large deviation regime of $P(R,N)$. For $R R_c$ is typically dominated by a `condensate', i.e., a large single run that subsumes a finite fraction of the total displacement (supercritical condensed phase). Focusing on the family of speed distributions $W(v)=α(1-v/v_0)^{α-1}/v_0$, parametrized by $α>0$, we show that, for large $N$, $P(R,N)\sim \exp\left[-Nψ_{d,α}(R/N)\right]$ and we compute exactly the rate function $ψ_{d,α}(z)$ for any $d$ and $α$. We show that the transition manifests itself as a singularity of this rate function at $R=R_c$ and that its order depends continuously on $d$ and $α$. We also compute the distribution of the condensate size for $R>R_c$. Finally, we study the model when the total duration $T$ of the RTP, instead of the total number of runs, is fixed. Our analytical predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations, performed using a constrained Markov chain Monte Carlo technique, with precision $\sim 10^{-100}$.

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arXiv2021

Non-intersecting Brownian bridges in the flat-to-flat geometry

We study $N$ vicious Brownian bridges propagating from an initial configuration $\{a_1 < a_2 < \ldots< a_N \}$ at time $t=0$ to a final configuration $\{b_1 < b_2 < \ldots< b_N \}$ at time $t=t_f$, while staying non-intersecting for all $0\leq t \leq t_f$. We first show that this problem can be mapped to a non-intersecting Dyson's Brownian bridges with Dyson index $β=2$. For the latter we derive an exact effective Langevin equation that allows to generate very efficiently the vicious bridge configurations. In particular, for the flat-to-flat configuration in the large $N$ limit, where $a_i = b_i = (i-1)/N$, for $i = 1, \cdots, N$, we use this effective Langevin equation to derive an exact Burgers' equation (in the inviscid limit) for the Green's function and solve this Burgers' equation for arbitrary time $0 \leq t\leq t_f$. At certain specific values of intermediate times $t$, such as $t=t_f/2$, $t=t_f/3$ and $t=t_f/4$ we obtain the average density of the flat-to-flat bridge explicitly. We also derive explicitly how the two edges of the average density evolve from time $t=0$ to time $t=t_f$. Finally, we discuss connections to some well known problems, such as the Chern-Simons model, the related Stieltjes-Wigert orthogonal polynomials and the Borodin-Muttalib ensemble of determinantal point processes.

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arXiv2021

Impurities in systems of noninteracting trapped fermions

We study the properties of spin-less non-interacting fermions trapped in a confining potential in one dimension but in the presence of one or more impurities which are modelled by delta function potentials. We use a method based on the single particle Green's function. For a single impurity placed in the bulk, we compute the density of the Fermi gas near the impurity. Our results, in addition to recovering the Friedel oscillations at large distance from the impurity, allow the exact computation of the density at short distances. We also show how the density of the Fermi gas is modified when the impurity is placed near the edge of the trap in the region where the unperturbed system is described by the Airy gas. Our method also allows us to compute the effective potential felt by the impurity both in the bulk and at the edge. In the bulk this effective potential is shown to be a universal function only of the local Fermi wave vector, or equivalently of the local fermion density. When the impurity is placed near the edge of the Fermi gas, the effective potential can be expressed in terms of Airy functions. For an attractive impurity placed far outside the support of the fermion density, we show that an interesting transition occurs where a single fermion is pulled out of the Fermi sea and forms a bound state with the impurity. This is a quantum analogue of the well-known Baik-Ben Arous-Péché (BBP) transition, known in the theory of spiked random matrices. The density at the location of the impurity plays the role of an order parameter. We also consider the case of two impurities in the bulk and compute exactly the effective force between them mediated by the background Fermi gas.

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arXiv2021

Survival probability of a run-and-tumble particle in the presence of a drift

We consider a one-dimensional run-and-tumble particle, or persistent random walk, in the presence of an absorbing boundary located at the origin. After each tumbling event, which occurs at a constant rate $γ$, the (new) velocity of the particle is drawn randomly from a distribution $W(v)$. We study the survival probability $S(x,t)$ of a particle starting from $x \geq 0$ up to time $t$ and obtain an explicit expression for its double Laplace transform (with respect to both $x$ and $t$) for an arbitrary velocity distribution $W(v)$, not necessarily symmetric. This result is obtained as a consequence of Spitzer's formula, which is well known in the theory of random walks and can be viewed as a generalization of the Sparre Andersen theorem. We then apply this general result to the specific case of a two-state particle with velocity $\pm v_0$, the so-called persistent random walk (PRW), and in the presence of a constant drift $μ$ and obtain an explicit expression for $S(x,t)$, for which we present more detailed results. Depending on the drift $μ$, we find a rich variety of behaviours for $S(x,t)$, leading to three distinct cases: (i) subcritical drift $-v_0\!<\!μ\!<\! v_0$, (ii) supercritical drift $μ< -v_0$ and (iii) critical drift $μ=-v_0$. In these three cases, we obtain exact analytical expressions for the survival probability $S(x,t)$ and establish connections with existing formulae in the mathematics literature. Finally, we discuss some applications of these results to record statistics and to the statistics of last-passage times.

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arXiv2020

Mean perimeter and area of the convex hull of a planar Brownian motion in the presence of resetting

We compute exactly the mean perimeter and the mean area of the convex hull of a $2$-d Brownian motion of duration $t$ and diffusion constant $D$, in the presence of resetting to the origin at a constant rate $r$. We show that for any $t$, the mean perimeter is given by $\langle L(t)\rangle= 2 π\sqrt{\frac{D}{r}}\, f_1(rt)$ and the mean area is given by $\langle A(t) \rangle= 2π\frac{D}{r}\, f_2(rt)$ where the scaling functions $f_1(z)$ and $f_2(z)$ are computed explicitly. For large $t\gg 1/r$, the mean perimeter grows extremely slowly as $\langle L(t)\rangle \propto \ln (rt)$ with time. Likewise, the mean area also grows slowly as $\langle A(t)\rangle \propto \ln^2(rt)$ for $t\gg 1/r$. Our exact results indicate that the convex hull, in the presence of resetting, approaches a circular shape at late times. Numerical simulations are in perfect agreement with our analytical predictions.

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arXiv2020

Extreme value statistics of correlated random variables: a pedagogical review

Extreme value statistics (EVS) concerns the study of the statistics of the maximum or the minimum of a set of random variables. This is an important problem for any time-series and has applications in climate, finance, sports, all the way to physics of disordered systems where one is interested in the statistics of the ground state energy. While the EVS of `uncorrelated' variables are well understood, little is known for strongly correlated random variables. Only recently this subject has gained much importance both in statistical physics and in probability theory. In this review, we will first recall the classical EVS for uncorrelated variables and discuss the three universality classes of extreme value limiting distribution, known as the Gumbel, Fréchet and Weibull distribution. We then show that, for weakly correlated random variables with a finite correlation length/time, the limiting extreme value distribution can still be inferred from that of the uncorrelated variables using a renormalisation group-like argument. Finally, we consider the most interesting examples of strongly correlated variables for which there are very few exact results for the EVS. We discuss few examples of such strongly correlated systems (such as the Brownian motion and the eigenvalues of a random matrix) where some analytical progress can be made. We also discuss other observables related to extremes, such as the density of near-extreme events, time at which an extreme value occurs, order and record statistics, etc.

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arXiv2020

Kernels for noninteracting fermions via a Green's function approach with applications to step potentials

The quantum correlations of $N$ noninteracting spinless fermions in their ground state can be expressed in terms of a two-point function called the kernel. Here we develop a general and compact method for computing the kernel in a general trapping potential in terms of the Green's function for the corresponding single particle Schrödinger equation. For smooth potentials the method allows a simple alternative derivation of the local density approximation for the density and of the sine kernel in the bulk part of the trap in the large $N$ limit. It also recovers the density and the kernel of the so-called {\em Airy gas} at the edge. This method allows to analyse the quantum correlations in the ground state when the potential has a singular part with a fast variation in space. For the square step barrier of height $V_0$, we derive explicit expressions for the density and for the kernel. For large Fermi energy $μ>V_0$ it describes the interpolation between two regions of different densities in a Fermi gas, each described by a different sine kernel. Of particular interest is the {\em critical point} of the square well potential when $μ=V_0$. In this critical case, while there is a macroscopic number of fermions in the lower part of the step potential, there is only a finite $O(1)$ number of fermions on the shoulder, and moreover this number is independent of $μ$. In particular, the density exhibits an algebraic decay $\sim 1/x^2$, where $x$ is the distance from the jump. Furthermore, we show that the critical behaviour around $μ= V_0$ exhibits universality with respect with the shape of the barrier. This is established (i) by an exact solution for a smooth barrier (the Woods-Saxon potential) and (ii) by establishing a general relation between the large distance behavior of the kernel and the scattering amplitudes of the single-particle wave-function.

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arXiv2020

Statistics of the Number of Records for Random Walks and Lévy Flights on a ${1D}$ Lattice

We study the statistics of the number of records $R_n$ for a symmetric, $n$-step, discrete jump process on a $1D$ lattice. At a given step, the walker can jump by arbitrary lattice units drawn from a given symmetric probability distribution. This process includes, as a special case, the standard nearest neighbor lattice random walk. We derive explicitly the generating function of the distribution $P(R_n)$ of the number of records, valid for arbitrary discrete jump distributions. As a byproduct, we provide a relatively simple proof of the generalized Sparre Andersen theorem for the survival probability of a random walk on a line, with discrete or continuous jump distributions. For the discrete jump process, we then derive the asymptotic large $n$ behavior of $P(R_n)$ as well as of the average number of records $E(R_n)$. We show that unlike the case of random walks with symmetric and continuous jump distributions where the record statistics is strongly universal (i.e., independent of the jump distribution for all $n$), the record statistics for lattice walks depends on the jump distribution for any fixed $n$. However, in the large $n$ limit, we show that the distribution of the scaled record number $R_n/E(R_n)$ approaches a universal, half-Gaussian form for any discrete jump process. The dependence on the jump distribution enters only through the scale factor $E(R_n)$, which we also compute in the large $n$ limit for arbitrary jump distributions. We present explicit results for a few examples and provide numerical checks of our analytical predictions.

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