The Parisi formula is a self-contained description of the infinite-volume limit of the free energy of mean-field spin glass models. We showthat this quantity can be recast as the solution of a Hamilton–Jacobi equation in the Wasserstein space of probability measures on the positive half-line.

We consider the dynamics of the director in a nematic liquid crystal when under the influence of an applied electric field. Using an energy variational approach we derive a dynamic model for the director including both dissipative and inertial forces.

A numerical scheme for the model is proposed by extending a scheme for a related variational wave equation. Numerical experiments are performed studying the realignment of the director field when applying a voltage difference over the liquid crystal cell. In particular, we study how the relative strength of dissipative versus inertial forces influence the time scales of the transition between the initial configuration and the electrostatic equilibrium state.

This work is a follow-up to our previous work. It extends and complements, both theoretically and experimentally, the results presented there. Under consideration is the homogenization of a model of a weakly random heterogeneous material. The material consists of a reference periodic material randomly perturbed by another periodic material, so that its homogenized behavior is close to that of the reference material. We consider laws for the random perturbations more general than in. We prove the validity of an asymptotic expansion in a certain class of settings. We also extend the formal approach introduced in. Our perturbative approach shares common features with a defect-type theory of solid state physics. The computational efficiency of the approach is demonstrated.

The almost-sure existence of a polymer probability in the infinite volume limit is readily obtained under general conditions of weak disorder from standard theory on multiplicative cascades or branching random walks. However, speculations in the case of strong disorder have been mixed. In this note existence of an infinite volume probability is established at critical strong disorder for which one has convergence in probability. Some calculations in support of a specific formula for the almost-sure asymptotic variance of the polymer path under strong disorder are also provided.

We study a continuous-time random walk on the d-dimensional lattice, subject to a drift and an attraction to large clusters of a subcritical Bernoulli site percolation. We find two distinct regimes: a ballistic one, and a subballistic one taking place when the attraction is strong enough. We identify the speed in the former case, and the algebraic rate of escape in the latter case. Finally, we discuss the diffusive behavior in the case of zero drift and weak attraction.

In first-passage percolation (FPP) models, the passage time Tℓ from the origin to the point ℓeℓ satisfies f(ℓ) := ETℓ = μℓ + o(ℓ½+ε), where μ ∊ (0,∞) denotes the time constant. Yet, for lattice FPP, it is not known rigorously that f(ℓ) is eventually monotonically increasing. Here, for the Poisson-based Euclidean FPP of Howard and Newman (Prob. Theory Relat. Fields108 (1997), 153–170), we prove an explicit formula for f′(ℓ). In all dimensions, for certain values of the model's only parameter we have f′(ℓ) ≥ C > 0 for large ℓ.

We prove the law of large numbers for random walks in random environments on the d-dimensional integer lattice Zd. The environment is described in terms of a stationary random field of transition probabilities on the lattice, possessing a certain drift property, modeled on the Kalikov condition. In contrast to the previously considered models, we admit possible correlation of transition probabilities at different sites, assuming however that they become independent at finite distances. The possible dependence of sites makes impossible a direct application of the renewal times technique of Sznitman and Zerner.

Consider a network whose nodes are the integer lattice points and whose arcs are fuses of 1Ω resistance. Remove a horizontal segment of N adjacent vertical arcs, forming a ‘crack’ of length N. Subject the network to a uniform potential gradient of v volts per arc in the north-south (or vertical) direction and measure the current in one of the two vertical arcs at the ends of the crack. We write this current in the form e(N)v, and call e(N) the current enhancement.

We show that the enhancement grows at a rate that is the order of the square root of the crack length. Our method is to identify the enhancement with the mean time to exit an interval for a certain integer valued random walk, and then to use some of the well-known Fourier methods for studying random walk. Our random walk has no mean or higher moments and is in the domain of attraction of the Cauchy law. We provide a good approximation to the enhancement using the explicitly known mean time to exit an interval for a Cauchy process. Weak convergence arguments together with an estimate of a recurrence probability enable us to show that the current in an intact fuse, that is in the interior of a crack of length N, grows p roportionally with N/logN.