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Krzysztof Burdzy

Publications and source records attributed to Krzysztof Burdzy.

89 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2007

Pathwise uniqueness for a degenerate stochastic differential equation

We introduce a new method of proving pathwise uniqueness, and we apply it to the degenerate stochastic differential equation \[dX_t=|X_t|^α dW_t,\] where $W_t$ is a one-dimensional Brownian motion and $α\in(0,1/2)$. Weak uniqueness does not hold for the solution to this equation. If one restricts attention, however, to those solutions that spend zero time at 0, then pathwise uniqueness does hold and a strong solution exists. We also consider a class of stochastic differential equations with reflection.

math.PR↗
arXiv2007

An annihilating--branching particle model for the heat equation with average temperature zero

We consider two species of particles performing random walks in a domain in $\mathbb{R}^d$ with reflecting boundary conditions, which annihilate on contact. In addition, there is a conservation law so that the total number of particles of each type is preserved: When the two particles of different species annihilate each other, particles of each species, chosen at random, give birth. We assume initially equal numbers of each species and show that the system has a diffusive scaling limit in which the densities of the two species are well approximated by the positive and negative parts of the solution of the heat equation normalized to have constant $L^1$ norm. In particular, the higher Neumann eigenfunctions appear as asymptotically stable states at the diffusive time scale.

math.PR↗
arXiv2006

Mirror couplings and Neumann eigenfunctions

We analyze a pair of reflected Brownian motions in a planar domain $D$, for which the increments of both processes form mirror images of each other when the processes are not on the boundary. We show that for $D$ in a class of smooth convex planar domains, the two processes remain ordered forever, according to a certain partial order. This is used to prove that the second eigenvalue is simple for the Laplacian with Neumann boundary conditions for the same class of domains.

math.PR↗
arXiv2005

Shy couplings

A pair of Markov processes is called a Markov coupling if both processes have the same transition probabilities and the pair is also a Markov process. We say that a coupling is ``shy'' if the processes never come closer than some (random) strictly positive distance from each other. We investigate whether shy couplings exist for several classes of Markov processes.

math.PR↗
arXiv2005

On the Robin problem in fractal domains

We study the solution to the Robin boundary problem for the Laplacian in a Euclidean domain. We present some families of fractal domains where the infimum of the solution is greater than 0, and some other families of domains were it is equal to 0. We also give a new result on `trap domains', i.e., domains where reflecting Brownian motion takes a long time to reach the center of the domain.

math.CA↗
arXiv2005

Lenses in Skew Brownian Flow

We consider a stochastic flow in which individual particles follow skew Brownian motions, with each one of these processes driven by the same Brownian motion. One does not have uniqueness for the solutions of the corresponding stochastic differential equation simultaneously for all real initial conditions. Due to this lack of the simultaneous strong uniqueness for the whole system of stochastic differential equations, the flow contains lenses, that is, pairs of skew Brownian motions which start at the same point, bifurcate, and then coalesce in a finite time. The paper contains qualitative and quantitative (distributional) results on the geometry of the flow and lenses.

math.PR↗
arXiv2005

Synchronous couplings of reflected Brownian motions in smooth domains

For every bounded planar domain $D$ with a smooth boundary, we define a `Lyapunov exponent' $Λ(D)$ using a fairly explicit formula. We consider two reflected Brownian motions in $D$, driven by the same Brownian motion (i.e., a `synchronous coupling'). If $Λ(D)>0$ then the distance between the two Brownian particles goes to 0 exponentially fast with rate $Λ(D)/(2|D|)$ as time goes to infinity. The exponent $Λ(D)$ is strictly positive if the domain has at most one hole. It is an open problem whether there exists a domain with $Λ(D)<0$.

math.PR↗
arXiv2002

On nodal lines of Neumann eigenfunctions

We present a new method for locating the nodal line of the second eigenfunction for the Neumann problem in a planar domain. The technique is based on the `mirror coupling' of reflected Brownian motions.

math.AP↗
arXiv2000

Super-Brownian motion with reflecting historical paths

We consider super-Brownian motion whose historical paths reflect from each other, unlike those of the usual historical super-Brownian motion. We prove tightness for the family of distributions corresponding to a sequence of discrete approximations but we leave the problem of uniqueness of the limit open. We prove a few results about path behavior for processes under any limit distribution. In particular, we show that for any $γ>0$, a "typical" increment of a reflecting historical path over a small time interval $Δt$ is not greater than $(Δt)^{3/4 - γ}$.

math.PR↗
arXiv2000

The supremum of Brownian local times on Holder curves

For $f: [0,1]\to \R$, we consider $L^f_t$, the local time of space-time Brownian motion on the curve $f$. Let $\sS_\al$ be the class of all functions whose Hölder norm of order $\al$ is less than or equal to 1. We show that the supremum of $L^f_1$ over $f$ in $\sS_\al$ is finite is $\al>\frac12$ and infinite if $\al<\frac12$.

math.PR↗
arXiv1999

Coalescence of skew Brownian motions

We prove that two skew Brownian motions with the same skewness parameter (different from 0) and driven by the same Brownian motion coalesce a.s.

math.PR↗
arXiv1999

A counterexample to the "hot spots" conjecture

We construct a counterexample to the ``hot spots'' conjecture; there exists a bounded connected planar domain (with two holes) such that the second eigenvalue of the Laplacian in that domain with Neumann boundary conditions is simple and such that the corresponding eigenfunction attains its strict maximum at an interior point of that domain.

math.PR↗
arXiv1998

Stochastic bifurcation models

We study an ordinary differential equation controlled by a stochastic process. We present results on existence and uniqueness of solutions, on associated local times (Trotter and Ray-Knight theorems), and on time and direction of bifurcation. A relationship with Lipschitz approximations to Brownian paths is also discussed.

math.PR↗
arXiv1997

On minimal parabolic functions and time-homogeneous parabolic h-transforms

Does a minimal harmonic function $h$ remain minimal when it is viewed as a parabolic function? The question is answered for a class of long thin semi-infinite tubes $D\subset \R^d$ of variable width and minimal harmonic functions $h$ corresponding to the boundary point of $D$ ``at infinity.'' Suppose $f(u)$ is the width of the tube $u$ units away from its endpoint and $f$ is a Lipschitz function. The answer to the question is affirmative if and only if $\int^\infty f^3(u)du = \infty$. If the test fails, there exist parabolic $h$-transforms of space-time Brownian motion in $D$ with infinite lifetime which are not time-homogenous.

math.PR↗
arXiv1997

Sets avoided by Brownian motion

Any fixed cylinder is hit almost surely by a 3-dimensional Brownian motion, but is there a random cylinder that is in the complement? We answer this for cylinders, and then replacing a cylinder with a more general set.

math.PR↗