Fluctuations of observables for free fermions in a harmonic trap at finite temperature

We study a system of 1D noninteracting spinless fermions in a confining trap at finite temperature. We first derive a useful and general relation for the fluctuations of the occupation numbers valid for arbitrary confining trap, as well as for both canonical and grand canonical ensembles. Using this relation, we obtain compact expressions, in the case of the harmonic trap, for the variance of certain observables of the form of sums of a function of the fermions' positions, $\mathcal{L}=\sum_n h(x_n)$. Such observables are also called linear statistics of the positions. As anticipated, we demonstrate explicitly that these fluctuations do depend on the ensemble in the thermodynamic limit, as opposed to averaged quantities, which are ensemble independent. We have applied our general formalism to compute the fluctuations of the number of fermions $\mathcal{N}_+$ on the positive axis at finite temperature. Our analytical results are compared to numerical simulations. We discuss the universality of the results with respect to the nature of the confinement.Comment: 36 pages, 6 pdf figure

Phase transitions and edge scaling of number variance in Gaussian random matrices

We consider $N\times N$ Gaussian random matrices, whose average density of eigenvalues has the Wigner semi-circle form over $[-\sqrt{2},\sqrt{2}]$. For such matrices, using a Coulomb gas technique, we compute the large $N$ behavior of the probability $\mathcal{P}_{\scriptscriptstyle N,L}(N_L)$ that $N_L$ eigenvalues lie within the box $[-L,L]$. This probability scales as $\mathcal{P}_{\scriptscriptstyle N,L}(N_L=\kappa_L N)\approx\exp\left(-{\beta} N^2 \psi_L(\kappa_L)\right)$, where $\beta$ is the Dyson index of the ensemble and $\psi_L(\kappa_L)$ is a $\beta$-independent rate function that we compute exactly. We identify three regimes as $L$ is varied: (i) $\, N^{-1}\ll L<\sqrt{2}$ (bulk), (ii) $\ L\sim\sqrt{2}$ on a scale of $\mathcal{O}(N^{-{2}/{3}})$ (edge) and (iii) $\ L > \sqrt{2}$ (tail). We find a dramatic non-monotonic behavior of the number variance $V_N(L)$ as a function of $L$: after a logarithmic growth $\propto \ln (N L)$ in the bulk (when $L \sim {\cal O}(1/N)$), $V_N(L)$ decreases abruptly as $L$ approaches the edge of the semi-circle before it decays as a stretched exponential for $L > \sqrt{2}$. This "drop-off" of $V_N(L)$ at the edge is described by a scaling function $\tilde V_{\beta}$ which smoothly interpolates between the bulk (i) and the tail (iii). For $\beta = 2$ we compute $\tilde V_2$ explicitly in terms of the Airy kernel. These analytical results, verified by numerical simulations, directly provide for $\beta=2$ the full statistics of particle-number fluctuations at zero temperature of 1d spinless fermions in a harmonic trap.Comment: 5 pag., 3 fig, published versio

Run-and-tumble particle in one-dimensional confining potential: Steady state, relaxation and first passage properties

We study the dynamics of a one-dimensional run and tumble particle subjected to confining potentials of the type $V(x) = \alpha \, |x|^p$, with $p>0$. The noise that drives the particle dynamics is telegraphic and alternates between $\pm 1$ values. We show that the stationary probability density $P(x)$ has a rich behavior in the $(p, \alpha)$-plane. For $p>1$, the distribution has a finite support in $[x_-,x_+]$ and there is a critical line $\alpha_c(p)$ that separates an active-like phase for $\alpha > \alpha_c(p)$ where $P(x)$ diverges at $x_\pm$, from a passive-like phase for $\alpha < \alpha_c(p)$ where $P(x)$ vanishes at $x_\pm$. For $p<1$, the stationary density $P(x)$ collapses to a delta function at the origin, $P(x) = \delta(x)$. In the marginal case $p=1$, we show that, for $\alpha < \alpha_c$, the stationary density $P(x)$ is a symmetric exponential, while for $\alpha > \alpha_c$, it again is a delta function $P(x) = \delta(x)$. For the special cases $p=2$ and $p=1$, we obtain exactly the full time-dependent distribution $P(x,t)$, that allows us to study how the system relaxes to its stationary state. In addition, in these two cases, we also study analytically the full distribution of the first-passage time to the origin. Numerical simulations are in complete agreement with our analytical predictions.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figure

Disordered free fermions and the Cardy Ostlund fixed line at low temperature

Using functional RG, we reexamine the glass phase of the 2D random-field Sine Gordon model. It is described by a line of fixed points (FP) with a super-roughening amplitude $\bar{(u(0)-u(r))^2} \sim A(T) \ln^2 r$ as temperature $T$ is varied. A speculation is that this line is identical to the one found in disordered free-fermion models via exact results from ``nearly conformal'' field theory. This however predicts $A(T=0)=0$, contradicting numerics. We point out that this result may be related to failure of dimensional reduction, and that a functional RG method incorporating higher harmonics and non-analytic operators predicts a non-zero $A(T=0)$ which compares reasonably with numerics.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, only material adde

The longest excursion of stochastic processes in nonequilibrium systems

We consider the excursions, i.e. the intervals between consecutive zeros, of stochastic processes that arise in a variety of nonequilibrium systems and study the temporal growth of the longest one l_{\max}(t) up to time t. For smooth processes, we find a universal linear growth \simeq Q_{\infty} t with a model dependent amplitude Q_\infty. In contrast, for non-smooth processes with a persistence exponent \theta, we show that < l_{\max}(t) > has a linear growth if \theta \sim t^{1-\psi} if \theta > \theta_c. The amplitude Q_{\infty} and the exponent \psi are novel quantities associated to nonequilibrium dynamics. These behaviors are obtained by exact analytical calculations for renewal and multiplicative processes and numerical simulations for other systems such as the coarsening dynamics in Ising model as well as the diffusion equation with random initial conditions.Comment: 4 pages,2 figure

Condensation of the roots of real random polynomials on the real axis

We introduce a family of real random polynomials of degree n whose coefficients a_k are symmetric independent Gaussian variables with variance = e^{-k^\alpha}, indexed by a real \alpha \geq 0. We compute exactly the mean number of real roots for large n. As \alpha is varied, one finds three different phases. First, for 0 \leq \alpha \sim (\frac{2}{\pi}) \log{n}. For 1 < \alpha < 2, there is an intermediate phase where grows algebraically with a continuously varying exponent, \sim \frac{2}{\pi} \sqrt{\frac{\alpha-1}{\alpha}} n^{\alpha/2}. And finally for \alpha > 2, one finds a third phase where \sim n. This family of real random polynomials thus exhibits a condensation of their roots on the real line in the sense that, for large n, a finite fraction of their roots /n are real. This condensation occurs via a localization of the real roots around the values \pm \exp{[\frac{\alpha}{2}(k+{1/2})^{\alpha-1} ]}, 1 \ll k \leq n.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Simple solvable models with strong long-range correlations

We consider a set of $N$ independent and identically distributed (i.i.d) random variables $\{X_1,\, X_2,\ldots, X_N\}$ whose common distribution has a parameter $Y$ (or a set of parameters) which itself is random with its own distribution. For a fixed value of this parameter $Y$, the $X_i$ variables are independent and we call them conditionally independent and identically distributed (c.i.i.d). However, once integrated over the distribution of the parameter $Y$, the $X_i$ variables get strongly correlated, yet retaining a solvable structure for various observables, such as for the sum and the extremes of $X_i$'s. This provides a simple recipe to generate a class of solvable strongly correlated systems. We illustrate how this recipe works via three physical examples where $N$ particles on a line perform independent (i) Brownian motions, (ii) ballistic motions with random initial velocities, and (iii) L\'evy flights, but they get strongly correlated via simultaneous resetting to the origin. Our results are verified in numerical simulations. This recipe can be used to generate an endless variety of solvable strongly correlated systems.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure