Hausdorff dimension of collision times in one-dimensional log-gases

Abstract

We consider systems of multiple Brownian particles in one dimension that repel mutually via a logarithmic potential on the real line, more specifically the Dyson model. These systems are characterized by a parameter that controls the strength of the interaction, k > 0. Despite being a one-dimensional system, this system is interesting due to the properties that arise from the long-range interaction between particles. It is a well-known fact that when k is small enough, particle collisions occur almost surely, while when k is large, collisions never occur. However, aside from this fact, there was no characterization of the collision times until now. In this paper, we derive the fractal (Hausdorff) dimension of the set of collision times by generalizing techniques introduced by L. Liu and Y. Xiao [Probab. Math. Stat. 18(2), 369–383 (1998)] to study the return times to the origin of self-similar Markov processes. In our case, we consider the return times to configurations where at least one collision occurs, which is a condition that defines unbounded sets as opposed to a single point, namely, the origin. We find that the fractal dimension characterizes the collision behavior of these systems and establishes a clear delimitation between the colliding and non-colliding regions in a way similar to that of a thermodynamic function.