Correlation structure of intermittency in the parabolic Anderson model

Consider the Cauchy problem ∂u(x, t)/∂t = ℋu(x, t) (x∈ℤ^d, t≥ 0) with initial condition u(x, 0) ≡ 1 and with ℋ the Anderson Hamiltonian ℋ = κΔ + ξ. Here Δ is the discrete Laplacian, κ∈ (0, ∞) is a diffusion constant, and ξ = {ξ(x): x∈ℤ ^d } is an i.i.d.random field taking values in ℝ. G?rtner and Molchanov (1990) have shown that if the law of ξ(0) is nondegenerate, then the solution u is asymptotically intermittent. In the present paper we study the structure of the intermittent peaks for the special case where the law of ξ(0) is (in the vicinity of) the double exponential Prob(ξ(0) > s) = exp[−e ^{s /θ}] (s∈ℝ). Here θ∈ (0, ∞) is a parameter that can be thought of as measuring the degree of disorder in the ξ-field. Our main result is that, for fixed x, y∈ℤ ^d and t→∈, the correlation coefficient of u(x, t) and u(y, t) converges to ∥w _ρ∥⁻² _ℓ2Σ_{z ∈ℤd} w _ρ(x+z)w _ρ(y+z). In this expression, ρ = θ/κ while w _ρ:ℤ^d→ℝ⁺ is given by w _ρ = (v _ρ)^{⊗ d} with v _ρ: ℤ→ℝ⁺ the unique centered ground state (i.e., the solution in ℓ²(ℤ) with minimal l ²-norm) of the 1-dimensional nonlinear equation Δv + 2ρv log v = 0. The uniqueness of the ground state is actually proved only for large ρ, but is conjectured to hold for any ρ∈ (0, ∞). empty It turns out that if the right tail of the law of ξ(0) is thicker (or thinner) than the double exponential, then the correlation coefficient of u(x, t) and u(y, t) converges to δ _{x, y} (resp.the constant function 1). Thus, the double exponential family is the critical class exhibiting a nondegenerate correlation structure. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revised version: 21 September 1998     

Parabolic problems for the Anderson model

Summary. This is a continuation of our previous work [6] on the investigation of intermittency for the parabolic equation (∂/∂t)u=Hu on ℝ₊×ℤ ^d associated with the Anderson Hamiltonian H=κΔ+ξ(·) for i.i.d. random potentials ξ(·). For the Cauchy problem with nonnegative homogeneous initial condition we study the second order asymptotics of the statistical moments <u(t,0) ^p > and the almost sure growth of u(t,0) as t→∞. We point out the crucial role of double exponential tails of ξ(0) for the formation of high intermittent peaks of the solution u(t,·) with asymptotically finite size. The challenging motivation is to achieve a better understanding of the geometric structure of such high exceedances which in one or another sense provide the essential contribution to the solution. Received: 10 December 1996 / In revised form: 30 September 1997     

Diffusion approximation for the convection-diffusion equation with random drift

We consider the asymptotic behavior of the solutions ofscaled convection-diffusion equations ∂ _t u _ɛ (t, x) = κΔ _x (t, x) + 1/ɛV(t/ɛ²,xɛ) ·∇ _x u _ɛ (t, x) with the initial condition u _ɛ(0,x) = u ₀(x) as the parameter ɛ↓ 0. Under the assumptions that κ > 0 and V(t, x), (t, x) ∈R ^d is a d-dimensional,stationary, zero mean, incompressible, Gaussian random field, Markovian and mixing in t we show that the laws of u _ɛ(t,·), t≥ 0 in an appropriate functional space converge weakly, as ɛ↓ 0, to a δ-type measureconcentrated on a solution of a certain constant coefficient heat equation. Received: 23 March 2000 / Revised version: 5 March 2001 / Published online: 9 October 2001     

Asymptotic separation for independent trajectories of Markov processes

We say that n independent trajectories ξ₁(t),…,ξ _n (t) of a stochastic process ξ(t)on a metric space are asymptotically separated if, for some ɛ > 0, the distance between ξ _i (t _i ) and ξ _j (t _j ) is at least ɛ, for some indices i, j and for all large enough t ₁,…,t _n , with probability 1. We prove sufficient conitions for asymptotic separationin terms of the Green function and the transition function, for a wide class of Markov processes. In particular,if ξ is the diffusion on a Riemannian manifold generated by the Laplace operator Δ, and the heat kernel p(t, x, y) satisfies the inequality p(t, x, x) ≤ Ct ^−ν/2 then n trajectories of ξ are asymptotically separated provided . Moreover, if for some α∈(0, 2)then n trajectories of ξ^(α) are asymptotically separated, where ξ^(α) is the α-process generated by −(−Δ)^α/2. Received: 10 June 1999 / Revised version: 20 April 2000 / Published online: 14 December 2000 RID="*" ID="*" Supported by the EPSRC Research Fellowship B/94/AF/1782 RID="**" ID="**" Partially supported by the EPSRC Visiting Fellowship GR/M61573     

Almost-sure central limit theorem for a Markov model of random walk in dynamical random environment

Summary We consider a model of random walk on ℤ^ν, ν≥2, in a dynamical random environment described by a field ξ={ξ _t (x): (t,x)∈ℤ^ν+1}. The random walk transition probabilities are taken as P(X _{t +1}= y|X _t = x,ξ _t =η) =P ₀( y−x)+ c(y−x;η(x)). We assume that the variables {ξ _t (x):(t,x) ∈ℤ^ν+1} are i.i.d., that both P ₀(u) and c(u;s) are finite range in u, and that the random term c(u;·) is small and with zero average. We prove that the C.L.T. holds almost-surely, with the same parameters as for P ₀, for all ν≥2. For ν≥3 there is a finite random (i.e., dependent on ξ) correction to the average of X _t , and there is a corresponding random correction of order to the C.L.T.. For ν≥5 there is a finite random correction to the covariance matrix of X _t and a corresponding correction of order to the C.L.T.. Proofs are based on some new L ^p estimates for a class of functionals of the field. Received: 4 January 1996/In revised form: 26 May 1997     

Stochastic Equations with Time-Dependent Drift Driven by Levy Processes

The stochastic equation dX _t =dS _t +a(t,X _t )dt, t≥0, is considered where S is a one-dimensional Levy process with the characteristic exponent ψ(ξ),ξ∈ℝ. We prove the existence of (weak) solutions for a bounded, measurable coefficient a and any initial value X ₀=x ₀∈ℝ when (ℛe  ψ(ξ))⁻¹=o(|ξ|⁻¹) as |ξ|→∞. These conditions coincide with those found by Tanaka, Tsuchiya and Watanabe (J. Math. Kyoto Univ. 14(1), 73–92, 1974) in the case of a(t,x)=a(x). Our approach is based on Krylov’s estimates for Levy processes with time-dependent drift. Some variants of those estimates are derived in this note.     

Growth and Hölder conditions for the sample paths of Feller processes

Let (A,D(A)) be the infinitesimal generator of a Feller semigroup such that C _c ^∞(ℝ ⁿ )⊂D(A) and A|C _c ^∞(ℝ ⁿ ) is a pseudo-differential operator with symbol −p(x,ξ) satisfying |p(•,ξ)|_∞≤c(1+|ξ|²) and |Imp(x,ξ)|≤c ₀Rep(x,ξ). We show that the associated Feller process {X _t } _{t ≥0} on ℝ ⁿ is a semimartingale, even a homogeneous diffusion with jumps (in the sense of [21]), and characterize the limiting behaviour of its trajectories as t→0 and ∞. To this end, we introduce various indices, e.g., β_∞ ^x :={λ>0:lim _{|ξ|→∞ | x − y |≤2/|ξ|}|p(y,ξ)|/|ξ|^λ=0} or δ_∞ ^x :={λ>0:liminf _{|ξ|→∞ | x − y |≤2/|ξ| |ε|≤1}|p(y,|ξ|ε)|/|ξ|^λ=0}, and obtain a.s. (ℙ ^x ) that lim _{t →0} t ^−1/λ _{s ≤ t} |X _s −x|=0 or ∞ according to λ>β_∞ ^x or λ<δ_∞ ^x . Similar statements hold for the limit inferior and superior, and also for t→∞. Our results extend the constant-coefficient (i.e., Lévy) case considered by W. Pruitt [27]. Received: 21 July 1997 / Revised version: 26 January 1998     

Removable singularities and non-uniqueness of solutions of a singular diffusion equation

 We prove that the solution u of the equation u _t =Δlog u, u>0, in (Ω\{x ₀})×(0,T), Ω⊂ℝ², has removable singularities at {x ₀}×(0,T) if and only if for any 0<α<1, 0<a<b<T, there exist constants ρ₀, C ₁, C ₂>0, such that C ₁ |x−x ₀|^α≤u(x,t)≤C ₂|x−x ₀|^−α holds for all 0<|x−x ₀|≤ρ₀ and a≤t≤b. As a consequence we obtain a sufficient condition for removable singularities at {∞}×(0,T) for solutions of the above equation in ℝ²×(0,T) and we prove the existence of infinitely many finite mass solutions for the equation in ℝ²×(0,T) when 0≤u ₀∉L ¹ (ℝ²) is radially symmetric and u ₀L _loc ¹(ℝ²). Received: 16 December 2001 / Revised version: 20 May 2002 / Published online: 10 February 2003 Mathematics Subject Classification (1991): 35B40, 35B25, 35K55, 35K65     

Formula for a solution ofu t +H(u,Du) =g

We study the continuous as well as the discontinuous solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equationu _t +H(u,Du) =g in ℝ ⁿ x ℝ₊ withu(x, 0) =u ₀(x). The HamiltonianH(s,p) is assumed to be convex and positively homogeneous of degree one inp for eachs in ℝ. IfH is non increasing ins, in general, this problem need not admit a continuous viscosity solution. Even in this case we obtain a formula for discontinuous viscosity solutions.     

An Application of a Mountain Pass Theorem

We are concerned with the following Dirichlet problem: −Δu(x) = f(x, u), x∈Ω, u∈H ¹ ₀(Ω), (P) where f(x, t) ∈C (×ℝ), f(x, t)/t is nondecreasing in t∈ℝ and tends to an L ^∞-function q(x) uniformly in x∈Ω as t→ + ∞ (i.e., f(x, t) is asymptotically linear in t at infinity). In this case, an Ambrosetti-Rabinowitz-type condition, that is, for some θ > 2, M > 0, 0 > θF(x, s) ≤f(x, s)s, for all |s|≥M and x∈Ω, (AR) is no longer true, where F(x, s) = ∫ ^s ₀ f(x, t)dt. As is well known, (AR) is an important technical condition in applying Mountain Pass Theorem. In this paper, without assuming (AR) we prove, by using a variant version of Mountain Pass Theorem, that problem (P) has a positive solution under suitable conditions on f(x, t) and q(x). Our methods also work for the case where f(x, t) is superlinear in t at infinity, i.e., q(x) ≡ +∞. Received June 24, 1998, Accepted January 14, 2000.     

Approximation of potential integral by radial bases for solutions of Helmholtz equation

For a Helmholtz equation Δu(x) + κ ² u(x) = f(x) in a region of R ^s , s ≥ 2, where Δ is the Laplace operator and κ = a + ib is a complex number with b ≥ 0, a particular solution is given by a potential integral. In this paper the potential integral is approximated by using radial bases with the order of approximation derived.      

On uniqueness problems related to the Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov equation for measures

We survey recent results related to uniqueness problems for parabolic equations for measures. We consider equations of the form ∂ _t μ = L ^* μ for bounded Borel measures on ℝ ^d  × (0, T), where L is a second order elliptic operator, for example, Lu = D_xu + ( b,?_xu ) Lu = {\Delta_x}u + \left( {b,{\nabla_x}u} \right) , and the equation is understood as the identity

On the behavior of solutions of a semilinear parabolic or elliptic equation satisfying a nonlinear boundary condition in a cylindrical domain

One considers a semilinear parabolic equation u _t = Lu − a(x)f(u) or an elliptic equation u _tt + Lu − a(x)f(u) = 0 in a semi-infinite cylinder Ω × ℝ₊ with the nonlinear boundary condition , where L is a uniformly elliptic divergent operator in a bounded domain Ω ∈ ℝⁿ; a(x) and b(x) are nonnegative measurable functions in Ω. One studies the asymptotic behavior of solutions of such boundary-value problems for t → ∞. __________ Translated from Trudy Seminara imeni I. G. Petrovskogo, No. 26, pp. 368–389, 2007.     

On a smooth solution of a boundary-value problem

We study a periodic boundary-value problem for the quasilinear equation u _tt −u _xx =F[u, u _t , u _x ], u(x, 0)=u(x, π)=0, u(x + ω, t) = u(x, t), x ∈ ℝ t ∈ [0, π], and establish conditions that guarantee the validity of a theorem on unique solvability. Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 1293–1296, September, 1998.     

Probabilities of high excursions of Gaussian fields

Let {ξ(t), t ∈ T} be a differentiable (in the mean-square sense) Gaussian random field with E ξ(t) ≡ 0, D ξ(t) ≡ 1, and continuous trajectories defined on the m-dimensional interval T ì \mathbbR^m T \subset {\mathbb{R}^m} . The paper is devoted to the problem of large excursions of the random field ξ. In particular, the asymptotic properties of the probability P = P{−v(t) < ξ(t) < u(t), t ∈ T}, when, for all t ∈ T, u(t), v(t) ⩾ χ, χ → ∞, are investigated. The work is a continuation of Rudzkis research started in [R. Rudzkis, Probabilities of large excursions of empirical processes and fields, Sov. Math., Dokl., 45(1):226–228, 1992]. It is shown that if the random field ξ satisfies certain smoothness and regularity conditions, then P = e^−Q  + Qo(1), where Q is a certain constructive functional depending on u, v, T, and the matrix function R(t) = cov(ξ′(t), ξ′(t)).     

Large deviations and concentration properties for ∇ϕ interface models

We consider the massless field with zero boundary conditions outside D _N ≡D∩ (ℤ ^d /N) (N∈ℤ⁺), D a suitable subset of ℝ ^d , i.e. the continuous spin Gibbs measure ℙ _N on ℝ ^ℤd/N with Hamiltonian given by H(ϕ) = ∑ _{x,y:|x−y|=1} V(ϕ(x) −ϕ(y)) and ϕ(x) = 0 for x∈D _N ^C . The interaction V is taken to be strictly convex and with bounded second derivative. This is a standard effective model for a (d + 1)-dimensional interface: ϕ represents the height of the interface over the base D _N . Due to the choice of scaling of the base, we scale the height with the same factor by setting ξ _N = ϕ/N. We study various concentration and relaxation properties of the family of random surfaces {ξ _N } and of the induced family of gradient fields ∇ ^N ξ _N as the discretization step 1/N tends to zero (N→∞). In particular, we prove a large deviation principle for {ξ _N } and show that the corresponding rate function is given by ∫ _D σ(∇u(x))dx, where σ is the surface tension of the model. This is a multidimensional version of the sample path large deviation principle. We use this result to study the concentration properties of ℙ _N under the volume constraint, i.e. the constraint that (1/N ^d ) ∑ _x∈DN ξ _N (x) stays in a neighborhood of a fixed volume v > 0, and the hard–wall constraint, i.e. ξ _N (x) ≥ 0 for all x. This is therefore a model for a droplet of volume v lying above a hard wall. We prove that under these constraints the field {ξ _N of rescaled heights concentrates around the solution of a variational problem involving the surface tension, as it would be predicted by the phenomenological theory of phase boundaries. Our principal result, however, asserts local relaxation properties of the gradient field {∇ ^N ξ _N (·)} to the corresponding extremal Gibbs states. Thus, our approach has little in common with traditional large deviation techniques and is closer in spirit to hydrodynamic limit type of arguments. The proofs have both probabilistic and analytic aspects. Essential analytic tools are ? _p estimates for elliptic equations and the theory of Young measures. On the side of probability tools, a central role is played by the Helffer–Sj?strand [31] PDE representation for continuous spin systems which we rewrite in terms of random walk in random environment and by recent results of T. Funaki and H. Spohn [25] on the structure of gradient fields. Received: 3 March 1999 / Revised version: 9 August 1999 / Published online: 30 March 2000     

Asymptotic behaviour of a Brownian motion on exterior domains

We study the asymptotic behaviour of the transition density of a Brownian motion in ?, killed at ∂?, where ? ^c is a compact non polar set. Our main result concern dimension d = 2, where we show that the transition density p ^? _t (x, y) behaves, for large t, as u(x)u(y)(t(log t)²)⁻¹ for x, y∈?, where u is the unique positive harmonic function vanishing on (∂?) ^r , such that u(x) ∼ log ∣x∣. Received: 29 January 1999 / Revised version: 11 May 1999     

A large-deviation result for the range of random walk and for the Wiener sausage

Let {S _n } be a random walk on ℤ ^d and let R _n be the number of different points among 0, S ₁,…, S _{n −1}. We prove here that if d≥ 2, then ψ(x) := lim _{n →∞}(−:1/n) logP{R _n ≥nx} exists for x≥ 0 and establish some convexity and monotonicity properties of ψ(x). The one-dimensional case will be treated in a separate paper. We also prove a similar result for the Wiener sausage (with drift). Let B(t) be a d-dimensional Brownian motion with constant drift, and for a bounded set A⊂ℝ ^d let Λ _t = Λ _t (A) be the d-dimensional Lebesgue measure of the `sausage' ∪_{0≤ s ≤ t} (B(s) + A). Then φ(x) := lim _t→∞: (−1/t) log P{Λ _t ≥tx exists for x≥ 0 and has similar properties as ψ. Received: 20 April 2000 / Revised version: 1 September 2000 / Published online: 26 April 2001     

Problem with periodicity conditions for a degenerating equation of mixed type

For the equation K(t)u _xx + u _tt − b ² K(t)u = 0 in the rectangular domain D = “(x, t)‖ 0 < x < 1, −α < t < β”, where K(t) = (sgnt)|t| ^m , m > 0, and b > 0, α > 0, and β > 0 are given real numbers, we use the spectral method to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the unique solvability of the boundary value problem u(0, t) = u(1, t), u _x (0, t) = u _x (1, t), −α ≤ t ≤ β, u(x, β) = φ(x), u(x,−α) = ψ(x), 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.     

Existence of solutions of certain quasilinear elliptic equations in ℝN without conditions at infinity

This paper deals with conditions for the existence of solutions of the equations