What is … \ldots\ a multiple orthogonal polynomial?

This is an extended version of our note in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society 63 (2016), no. 9, in which we explain what multiple orthogonal polynomials are and where they appear in various applications.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Multiple orthogonal polynomial ensembles

Multiple orthogonal polynomials are traditionally studied because of their connections to number theory and approximation theory. In recent years they were found to be connected to certain models in random matrix theory. In this paper we introduce the notion of a multiple orthogonal polynomial ensemble (MOP ensemble) and derive some of their basic properties. It is shown that Angelesco and Nikishin systems give rise to MOP ensembles and that the equilibrium problems that are associated with these systems have a natural interpretation in the context of MOP ensembles.Comment: 20 pages, no figure

Non-crossing Brownian paths and Dyson Brownian motion under a moving boundary

We compute analytically the probability $S(t)$ that a set of $N$ Brownian paths do not cross each other and stay below a moving boundary $g(\tau)= W \sqrt{\tau}$ up to time $t$. We show that for large $t$ it decays as a power law $S(t) \sim t^{- \beta(N,W)}$. The decay exponent $\beta(N,W)$ is obtained as the ground state energy of a quantum system of $N$ non-interacting fermions in a harmonic well in the presence of an infinite hard wall at position $W$. Explicit expressions for $\beta(N,W)$ are obtained in various limits of $N$ and $W$, in particular for large $N$ and large $W$. We obtain the joint distribution of the positions of the walkers in the presence of the moving barrier $g(\tau) =W \sqrt{\tau}$ at large time. We extend our results to the case of $N$ Dyson Brownian motions (corresponding to the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble) in the presence of the same moving boundary $g(\tau)=W\sqrt{\tau}$. For $W=0$ we show that the system provides a realization of a Laguerre biorthogonal ensemble in random matrix theory. We obtain explicitly the average density near the barrier, as well as in the bulk far away from the barrier. Finally we apply our results to $N$ non-crossing Brownian bridges on the interval $[0,T]$ under a time-dependent barrier $g_B(\tau)= W \sqrt{\tau(1- \frac{\tau}{T})}$.Comment: 44 pages, 13 figure