Trimmed branching random walk and a free obstacle problem

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Atar, Rami, Mytnik, Leonid, Wolansky, Gershon
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Atar, Rami
Mytnik, Leonid
Wolansky, Gershon
author_facet Atar, Rami
Mytnik, Leonid
Wolansky, Gershon
contents Consider $N$ particles performing random walks on the $ε$-grid $(εZ)^d$, $ε>0$ with branching and density-dependent selection: When one of the particles branches, a particle is removed from the most populated site. The walks are assumed to be asymptotic, as $ε\to0$, to diffusion processes of the form \[ dX_i(t)=b(X_i(t))dt+\sqrt{2}dW_i(t), \] for $b$ a given vector field. Denoting $L^*=Δ-\nabla\cdot(b\,\cdot)$, the hydrodynamic limit, as $N\to\infty$ followed by $ε\to0$, is characterized in terms of a parabolic free obstacle problem \[ \partial_t u=L^*u+u-β\] where $β$ is a measure on $R^d\times[0,\infty)$ supported on $\{(x,t):u(x,t)=|u(\cdot,t)|_\infty\}$. Here, the unknowns are $u$, the mass density, and $β$, the removal measure, for which $t\mapstoβ(R^d\times[0,t])$ is prescribed. This is analogous to the well-understood relation between particle systems with spatial selection and free boundary problems, but the techniques require quite different ideas. The key ingredients of the proof include PDE uniqueness for continuous densities and a uniform-in-$ε$ estimate on modulus of continuity of prelimit densities. The work gives rise to open problems such as ``flat top'' versus ``sharp top'' solutions, which are discussed based on concrete examples.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_21054
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Trimmed branching random walk and a free obstacle problem
Atar, Rami
Mytnik, Leonid
Wolansky, Gershon
Probability
35R35, 35K55, 60J80, 60F99, 82C22, 35R06
Consider $N$ particles performing random walks on the $ε$-grid $(εZ)^d$, $ε>0$ with branching and density-dependent selection: When one of the particles branches, a particle is removed from the most populated site. The walks are assumed to be asymptotic, as $ε\to0$, to diffusion processes of the form \[ dX_i(t)=b(X_i(t))dt+\sqrt{2}dW_i(t), \] for $b$ a given vector field. Denoting $L^*=Δ-\nabla\cdot(b\,\cdot)$, the hydrodynamic limit, as $N\to\infty$ followed by $ε\to0$, is characterized in terms of a parabolic free obstacle problem \[ \partial_t u=L^*u+u-β\] where $β$ is a measure on $R^d\times[0,\infty)$ supported on $\{(x,t):u(x,t)=|u(\cdot,t)|_\infty\}$. Here, the unknowns are $u$, the mass density, and $β$, the removal measure, for which $t\mapstoβ(R^d\times[0,t])$ is prescribed. This is analogous to the well-understood relation between particle systems with spatial selection and free boundary problems, but the techniques require quite different ideas. The key ingredients of the proof include PDE uniqueness for continuous densities and a uniform-in-$ε$ estimate on modulus of continuity of prelimit densities. The work gives rise to open problems such as ``flat top'' versus ``sharp top'' solutions, which are discussed based on concrete examples.
title Trimmed branching random walk and a free obstacle problem
topic Probability
35R35, 35K55, 60J80, 60F99, 82C22, 35R06
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.21054