On the long time behavior of the stochastic heat equation

We consider the stochastic heat equation in one space dimension and compute – for a particular choice of the initial datum – the exact long time asymptotic. In the Carmona-Molchanov approach to intermittence in non stationary random media this corresponds to the identification of the sample Lyapunov exponent. Equivalently, by interpreting the solution as the partition function of a directed polymer in a random environment, we obtain a weak law of large numbers for the quenched free energy. The result agrees with the one obtained in the physical literature via the replica method. The proof is based on a representation of the solution in terms of the weakly asymmetric exclusion process. Received: 11 November 1997 / Revised version: 31 July 1998