Clusters in an Epidemic Model with Long-Range Dispersal.

In the presence of long-range dispersal, epidemics spread in spatially disconnected regions known as clusters. Here, we characterize exactly their statistical properties in a solvable model, in both the supercritical (outbreak) and critical regimes. We identify two diverging length scales, corresponding to the bulk and the outskirt of the epidemic. We reveal a nontrivial critical exponent that governs the cluster number and the distribution of their sizes and of the distances between them. We also discuss applications to depinning avalanches with long-range elasticity.

Thermal Buckling Transition of Crystalline Membranes in a Field.

Two-dimensional crystalline membranes in isotropic embedding space exhibit a flat phase with anomalous elasticity, relevant, e.g., for graphene. Here we study their thermal fluctuations in the absence of exact rotational invariance in the embedding space. An example is provided by a membrane in an orientational field, tuned to a critical buckling point by application of in-plane stresses. Through a detailed analysis, we show that the transition is in a new universality class. The self-consistent screening method predicts a second-order transition, with modified anomalous elasticity exponents at criticality, while the RG suggests a weakly first-order transition.

Inverse Scattering of the Zakharov-Shabat System Solves the Weak Noise Theory of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Equation.

We solve the large deviations of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in one dimension at short time by introducing an approach which combines field theoretical, probabilistic, and integrable techniques. We expand the program of the weak noise theory, which maps the large deviations onto a nonlinear hydrodynamic problem, and unveil its complete solvability through a connection to the integrability of the Zakharov-Shabat system. Exact solutions, depending on the initial condition of the KPZ equation, are obtained using the inverse scattering method and a Fredholm determinant framework recently developed. These results, explicit in the case of the droplet geometry, open the path to obtain the complete large deviations for general initial conditions.

Spatial Clustering of Depinning Avalanches in Presence of Long-Range Interactions.

Disordered elastic interfaces display avalanche dynamics at the depinning transition. For short-range interactions, avalanches correspond to compact reorganizations of the interface well described by the depinning theory. For long-range elasticity, an avalanche is a collection of spatially disconnected clusters. In this Letter we determine the scaling properties of the clusters and relate them to the roughness exponent of the interface. The key observation of our analysis is the identification of a Bienaymé-Galton-Watson process describing the statistics of the number of clusters. Our work has concrete importance for experimental applications where the cluster statistics is a key probe of avalanche dynamics.

Statistics of Extremes in Eigenvalue-Counting Staircases.

We consider the number N_{θ_{A}}(θ) of eigenvalues e^{iθ_{j}} of a random unitary matrix, drawn from CUE_{ß}(N), in the interval θ_{j}∈[θ_{A},θ]. The deviations from its mean, N_{θ_{A}}(θ)-E[N_{θ_{A}}(θ)], form a random process as function of θ. We study the maximum of this process, by exploiting the mapping onto the statistical mechanics of log-correlated random landscapes. By using an extended Fisher-Hartwig conjecture supplemented with the freezing duality conjecture for log-correlated fields, we obtain the cumulants of the distribution of that maximum for any ß>0. It exhibits combined features of standard counting statistics of fermions (free for ß=2 and with Sutherland-type interaction for ß≠2) in an interval and extremal statistics of the fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index H=0. The ß=2 results are expected to apply to the statistics of zeroes of the Riemann Zeta function.

Universal Scaling of the Velocity Field in Crack Front Propagation.

The propagation of a crack front in disordered materials is jerky and characterized by bursts of activity, called avalanches. These phenomena are the manifestation of an out-of-equilibrium phase transition originated by the disorder. As a result avalanches display universal scalings which are, however, difficult to characterize in experiments at a finite drive. Here, we show that the correlation functions of the velocity field along the front allow us to extract the critical exponents of the transition and to identify the universality class of the system. We employ these correlations to characterize the universal behavior of the transition in simulations and in an experiment of crack propagation. This analysis is robust, efficient, and can be extended to all systems displaying avalanche dynamics.

Universal Survival Probability for a d-Dimensional Run-and-Tumble Particle.

We consider an active run-and-tumble particle (RTP) in d dimensions and compute exactly the probability S(t) that the x component of the position of the RTP does not change sign up to time t. When the tumblings occur at a constant rate, we show that S(t) is independent of d for any finite time t (and not just for large t), as a consequence of the celebrated Sparre Andersen theorem for discrete-time random walks in one dimension. Moreover, we show that this universal result holds for a much wider class of RTP models in which the speed v of the particle after each tumbling is random, drawn from an arbitrary probability distribution. We further demonstrate, as a consequence, the universality of the record statistics in the RTP problem.

Multicritical Edge Statistics for the Momenta of Fermions in Nonharmonic Traps.

We compute the joint statistics of the momenta p_{i} of N noninteracting fermions in a trap, near the Fermi edge, with a particular focus on the largest one p_{max}. For a 1D harmonic trap, momenta and positions play a symmetric role, and hence the joint statistics of momenta are identical to that of the positions. In particular, p_{max}, as x_{max}, is distributed according to the Tracy-Widom distribution. Here we show that novel "momentum edge statistics" emerge when the curvature of the potential vanishes, i.e., for "flat traps" near their minimum, with V(x)∼x^{2n} and n>1. These are based on generalizations of the Airy kernel that we obtain explicitly. The fluctuations of p_{max} are governed by new universal distributions determined from the nth member of the second Painlevé hierarchy of nonlinear differential equations, with connections to multicritical random matrix models. Finite temperature extensions and possible experimental signatures in cold atoms are discussed.

Coulomb-Gas Electrostatics Controls Large Fluctuations of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Equation.

We establish a large deviation principle for the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation, providing precise control over the left tail of the height distribution for narrow wedge initial condition. Our analysis exploits an exact connection between the KPZ one-point distribution and the Airy point process-an infinite particle Coulomb gas that arises at the spectral edge in random matrix theory. We develop the large deviation principle for the Airy point process and use it to compute, in a straightforward and assumption-free manner, the KPZ large deviation rate function in terms of an electrostatic problem (whose solution we evaluate). This method also applies to the half-space KPZ equation, showing that its rate function is half of the full-space rate function. In addition to these long-time estimates, we provide rigorous proof of finite-time tail bounds on the KPZ distribution, which demonstrate a crossover between exponential decay with exponent 3 (in the shallow left tail) to exponent 5/2 (in the deep left tail). The full-space KPZ rate function agrees with the one computed in Sasorov et al. [J. Stat. Mech. (2017) 063203JSMTC61742-546810.1088/1742-5468/aa73f8] via a WKB approximation analysis of a nonlocal, nonlinear integrodifferential equation generalizing Painlevé II which Amir et al. [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 64, 466 (2011)CPMAMV0010-364010.1002/cpa.20347] related to the KPZ one-point distribution.

Liouville Field Theory and Log-Correlated Random Energy Models.

An exact mapping is established between the c≥25 Liouville field theory (LFT) and the Gibbs measure statistics of a thermal particle in a 2D Gaussian free field plus a logarithmic confining potential. The probability distribution of the position of the minimum of the energy landscape is obtained exactly by combining the conformal bootstrap and one-step replica symmetry-breaking methods. Operator product expansions in the LFT allow us to unveil novel universal behaviors of the log-correlated random energy class. High-precision numerical tests are given.

Memory and Universality in Interface Growth.

Recently, very robust universal properties have been shown to arise in one-dimensional growth processes with local stochastic rules, leading to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class. Yet it has remained essentially unknown how fluctuations in these systems correlate at different times. Here, we derive quantitative predictions for the universal form of the two-time aging dynamics of growing interfaces and we show from first principles the breaking of ergodicity that the KPZ time evolution exhibits. We provide corroborating experimental observations on a turbulent liquid crystal system, as well as a numerical simulation of the Eden model, and we demonstrate the universality of our predictions. These results may give insight into memory effects in a broader class of far-from-equilibrium systems.

Exact Short-Time Height Distribution in the One-Dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang Equation and Edge Fermions at High Temperature.

We consider the early time regime of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in 1+1 dimensions in curved (or droplet) geometry. We show that for short time t, the probability distribution P(H,t) of the height H at a given point x takes the scaling form P(H,t)∼exp[-Φ_{drop}(H)/sqrt[t]] where the rate function Φ_{drop}(H) is computed exactly for all H. While it is Gaussian in the center, i.e., for small H, the probability distribution function has highly asymmetric non-Gaussian tails that we characterize in detail. This function Φ_{drop}(H) is surprisingly reminiscent of the large deviation function describing the stationary fluctuations of finite-size models belonging to the KPZ universality class. Thanks to a recently discovered connection between the KPZ equation and free fermions, our results have interesting implications for the fluctuations of the rightmost fermion in a harmonic trap at high temperature and the full counting statistics at the edge.

Exact mapping of the stochastic field theory for Manna sandpiles to interfaces in random media.

We show that the stochastic field theory for directed percolation in the presence of an additional conservation law [the conserved directed-percolation (C-DP) class] can be mapped exactly to the continuum theory for the depinning of an elastic interface in short-range correlated quenched disorder. Along one line of the parameters commonly studied, this mapping leads to the simplest overdamped dynamics. Away from this line, an additional memory term arises in the interface dynamics; we argue that this does not change the universality class. Since C-DP is believed to describe the Manna class of self-organized criticality, this shows that Manna stochastic sandpiles and disordered elastic interfaces (i.e., the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson model) share the same universal large-scale behavior.

Finite-temperature free fermions and the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation at finite time.

We consider the system of N one-dimensional free fermions confined by a harmonic well V(x)=mω(2)x(2)/2 at finite inverse temperature ß=1/T. The average density of fermions ρ(N)(x,T) at position x is derived. For N≫1 and ß∼O(1/N), ρ(N)(x,T) is given by a scaling function interpolating between a Gaussian at high temperature, for ß≪1/N, and the Wigner semicircle law at low temperature, for ß≫N(-1). In the latter regime, we unveil a scaling limit, for ßℏω=bN(-1/3), where the fluctuations close to the edge of the support, at x∼±âˆš[2ℏN/(mω)], are described by a limiting kernel K(b)(ff)(s,s') that depends continuously on b and is a generalization of the Airy kernel, found in the Gaussian unitary ensemble of random matrices. Remarkably, exactly the same kernel K(b)(ff)(s,s') arises in the exact solution of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in 1+1 dimensions at finite time t, with the correspondence t=b(3).

Experimental Evidence for Three Universality Classes for Reaction Fronts in Disordered Flows.

Self-sustained reaction fronts in a disordered medium subject to an external flow display self-affine roughening, pinning, and depinning transitions. We measure spatial and temporal fluctuations of the front in 1+1 dimensions, controlled by a single parameter, the mean flow velocity. Three distinct universality classes are observed, consistent with the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) class for fast advancing or receding fronts, the quenched KPZ class (positive-qKPZ) when the mean flow approximately cancels the reaction rate, and the negative-qKPZ class for slowly receding fronts. Both qKPZ classes exhibit distinct depinning transitions, in agreement with the theory.

Dynamics at the edge for independent diffusing particles.

We study the dynamics of the outliers for a large number of independent Brownian particles in one dimension. We derive the multitime joint distribution of the position of the rightmost particle, by two different methods. We obtain the two-time joint distribution of the maximum and second maximum positions, and we study the counting statistics at the edge. Finally, we derive the multitime joint distribution of the running maximum, as well as the joint distribution of the arrival time of the first particle at several space points.

Weak noise theory of the O'Connell-Yor polymer as an integrable discretization of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

We investigate and solve the weak noise theory for the semidiscrete O'Connell-Yor directed polymer. In the large deviation regime, the most probable evolution of the partition function obeys a classical nonlinear system which is a nonstandard discretization of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with mixed initial-final conditions. We show that this system is integrable and find its general solution through an inverse scattering method and a non-standard Fredholm determinant framework that we develop. This allows us to obtain the large deviation rate function of the free energy of the polymer model from its conserved quantities and to study its convergence to the large deviations of the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation. Our model also degenerates to the classical Toda chain, which further substantiates the applicability of our Fredholm framework.

Probing the large deviations for the beta random walk in random medium.

We consider a discrete-time random walk on a one-dimensional lattice with space- and time-dependent random jump probabilities, known as the beta random walk. We are interested in the probability that, for a given realization of the jump probabilities (a sample), a walker starting at the origin at time t=0 is at position beyond ξsqrt[T/2] at time T. This probability fluctuates from sample to sample and we study the large-deviation rate function, which characterizes the tails of its distribution at large time T≫1. It is argued that, up to a simple rescaling, this rate function is identical to the one recently obtained exactly by two of the authors for the continuum version of the model. That continuum model also appears in the macroscopic fluctuation theory of a class of lattice gases, e.g., in the so-called KMP model of heat transfer. An extensive numerical simulation of the beta random walk, based on an importance sampling algorithm, is found in good agreement with the detailed analytical predictions. A first-order transition in the tilted measure, predicted to occur in the continuum model, is also observed in the numerics.

Fluctuations in the active Dyson Brownian motion and the overdamped Calogero-Moser model.

Recently we introduced the active Dyson Brownian motion model (DBM), in which N run-and-tumble particles interact via a logarithmic repulsive potential in the presence of a harmonic well. We found that in a broad range of parameters the density of particles converges at large N to the Wigner semicircle law as in the passive case. In this paper we provide an analytical support for this numerical observation by studying the fluctuations of the positions of the particles in the nonequilibrium stationary state of the active DBM in the regime of weak noise and large persistence time. In this limit we obtain an analytical expression for the covariance between the particle positions for any N from the exact inversion of the Hessian matrix of the system. We show that, when the number of particles is large N≫1, the covariance matrix takes scaling forms that we compute explicitly both in the bulk and at the edge of the support of the semicircle. In the bulk the covariance scales as N^{-1}, while at the edge it scales as N^{-2/3}. Remarkably we find that these results can be transposed directly to an equilibrium model, the overdamped Calogero-Moser model in the low-temperature limit, providing an analytical confirmation of the numerical results obtained by Agarwal et al. [J. Stat. Phys. 176, 1463 (2019)0022-471510.1007/s10955-019-02349-6]. For this model our method also allows us to obtain the equilibrium two-time correlations and their dynamical scaling forms both in the bulk and at the edge. Our predictions at the edge are reminiscent of a recent result in the mathematics literature in Gorin and Kleptsyn [arXiv:2009.02006 (2023)] on the (passive) DBM. That result can be recovered by the present methods and also, as we show, using the stochastic Airy operator. Finally, our analytical predictions are confirmed by precise numerical simulations in a wide range of parameters.

Phase transitions for a collective coordinate coupled to Luttinger liquids.

We study various realizations of collective coordinates, e.g., the position of a particle, the charge of a Coulomb box, or the phase of a Bose or a superconducting condensate, coupled to Luttinger liquids with N flavors. We find that for a Luttinger parameter (1/2)