A central study in Probability Theory is the behavior of fluctuation phenomena of partial sums of different types of random variable. One of the most useful concepts for this purpose is that of the random walk which has applications in many areas, particularly in statistical physics and statistical chemistry. Originally published in 1991, Intersections of Random Walks focuses on and explores a number of problems dealing primarily with the nonintersection of random walks and the self-avoiding walk. Many of these problems arise in studying statistical physics and other critical phenomena. Topics include: discrete harmonic measure, including an introduction to diffusion limited aggregation (DLA); the probability that independent random walks do not intersect; and properties of walks without self-intersections. The present softcover reprint includes corrections and addenda from the 1996 printing, and makes this classic monograph available to a wider audience. With a self-contained introduction to the properties of simple random walks, and an emphasis on rigorous results, the book will be useful to researchers in probability and statistical physics and to graduate students interested in basic properties of random walks.

Involves important and non-trivial results in contemporary probability theory motivated by polymer models, as well as other topics of importance in physics and chemistry.

Comprehensive and interdisciplinary text covering the interplay between random walks and structure theory.

In recent years, there has been remarkable growth in the mathematics of random media. The field has deep scientific and technological roots, as well as purely mathematical ones in the theory of stochastic processes. This collection of papers by leading researchers provides an overview of this rapidly developing field. The papers were presented at the 1989 AMS-SIAM Summer Seminar in Applied Mathematics, held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. In addition to new results on stochastic differential equations and Markov processes, fields whose elegant mathematical techniques are of continuing value in application areas, the conference was organized around four themes: Systems of interacting particles are normally viewed in connection with the fundamental problems of statistical mechanics, but have also been used to model diverse phenomena such as computer architectures and the spread of biological populations. Powerful mathematical techniques have been developed for their analysis, and a number of important systems are now well understood. Random perturbations of dynamical systems have also been used extensively as models in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. Among the recent unifying mathematical developments is the theory of large deviations, which enables the accurate calculation of the probabilities of rare events. For these problems, approaches based on effective but formal perturbation techniques parallel rigorous mathematical approaches from probability theory and partial differential equations. The book includes representative papers from forefront research of both types. Effective medium theory, otherwise known as the mathematical theory of homogenization, consists of techniques for predicting the macroscopic properties of materials from an understanding of their microstructures. For example, this theory is fundamental in the science of composites, where it is used for theoretical determination of electrical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the inverse problem is potentially of great technological importance in the design of composite materials which have been optimized for some specific use. Mathematical theories of the propagation of waves in random media have been used to understand phenomena as diverse as the twinkling of stars, the corruption of data in geophysical exploration, and the quantum mechanics of disordered solids. Especially effective methods now exist for waves in randomly stratified, one-dimensional media. A unifying theme is the mathematical phenomenon of localization, which occurs when a wave propogating into a random medium is attenuated exponentially with propagation distance, with the attenuation caused solely by the mechanism of random multiple scattering. Because of the wide applicability of this field of research, this book would appeal to mathematicians, scientists, and engineers in a wide variety of areas, including probabilistic methods, the theory of disordered materials, systems of interacting particles, the design of materials, and dynamical systems driven by noise. In addition, graduate students and others will find this book useful as an overview of current research in random media.

Random walks are stochastic processes formed by successive summation of independent, identically distributed random variables and are one of the most studied topics in probability theory. This contemporary introduction evolved from courses taught at Cornell University and the University of Chicago by the first author, who is one of the most highly regarded researchers in the field of stochastic processes. This text meets the need for a modern reference to the detailed properties of an important class of random walks on the integer lattice. It is suitable for probabilists, mathematicians working in related fields, and for researchers in other disciplines who use random walks in modeling.

The simplest mathematical model of the Brownian motion of physics is the simple, symmetric random walk. This book collects and compares current results ? mostly strong theorems which describe the properties of a random walk. The modern problems of the limit theorems of probability theory are treated in the simple case of coin tossing. Taking advantage of this simplicity, the reader is familiarized with limit theorems (especially strong ones) without the burden of technical tools and difficulties. An easy way of considering the Wiener process is also given, through the study of the random walk.Since the first edition was published in 1990, a number of new results have appeared in the literature. The original edition contained many unsolved problems and conjectures which have since been settled; this second revised and enlarged edition includes those new results. Three new chapters have been added: frequently and rarely visited points, heavy points and long excursions. This new edition presents the most complete study of, and the most elementary way to study, the path properties of the Brownian motion.

The simplest mathematical model of the Brownian motion of physics is the simple, symmetric random walk. This book collects and compares current results — mostly strong theorems which describe the properties of a random walk. The modern problems of the limit theorems of probability theory are treated in the simple case of coin tossing. Taking advantage of this simplicity, the reader is familiarized with limit theorems (especially strong ones) without the burden of technical tools and difficulties. An easy way of considering the Wiener process is also given, through the study of the random walk.Since the first and second editions were published in 1990 and 2005, a number of new results have appeared in the literature. The first two editions contained many unsolved problems and conjectures which have since been settled; this third, revised and enlarged edition includes those new results. In this edition, a completely new part is included concerning Simple Random Walks on Graphs. Properties of random walks on several concrete graphs have been studied in the last decade. Some of the obtained results are also presented.

Simple random walks - or equivalently, sums of independent random vari ables - have long been a standard topic of probability theory and mathemat ical physics. In the 1950s, non-Markovian random-walk models, such as the self-avoiding walk,were introduced into theoretical polymer physics, and gradu ally came to serve as a paradigm for the general theory of critical phenomena. In the past decade, random-walk expansions have evolved into an important tool for the rigorous analysis of critical phenomena in classical spin systems and of the continuum limit in quantum field theory. Among the results obtained by random-walk methods are the proof of triviality of the cp4 quantum field theo ryin space-time dimension d (::::) 4, and the proof of mean-field critical behavior for cp4 and Ising models in space dimension d (::::) 4. The principal goal of the present monograph is to present a detailed review of these developments. It is supplemented by a brief excursion to the theory of random surfaces and various applications thereof. This book has grown out of research carried out by the authors mainly from 1982 until the middle of 1985. Our original intention was to write a research paper. However, the writing of such a paper turned out to be a very slow process, partly because of our geographical separation, partly because each of us was involved in other projects that may have appeared more urgent.

The conference proceedings includes discussions on state-of-the-art developments in an area being cross fertilized by both probability and mathematical physics. The physics emphasis represents a vision of exciting interplay between physics and probability.Important new results on the following areas are presented: self avoiding random walk, stochastic geometry on loop groups, percolation, spin systems, magnetism, spin glasses, static disorder, gauge field theory, functional integration and quantum field theory.

Covers the proceedings of the 1984 AMS Summer Research Conference. This work provides a summary of results from some of the areas in probability theory; interacting particle systems, percolation, random media (bulk properties and hydrodynamics), the Ising model and large deviations.