The Galton board: Limit theorems and recurrence
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- by N. Chernov and D. Dolgopyat
- J. Amer. Math. Soc. 22 (2009), 821-858
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-08-00626-7
- Published electronically: October 21, 2008
Abstract:
We study a particle moving in $\mathbb {R}^2$ under a constant (external) force and bouncing off a periodic array of convex domains (scatterers); the latter must satisfy a standard ‘finite horizon’ condition to prevent ‘ballistic’ (collision-free) motion. This model is known to physicists as the Galton board (it is also identical to a periodic Lorentz gas). Previous heuristic and experimental studies have suggested that the particle’s speed $v(t)$ should grow as $t^{1/3}$ and its coordinate $x(t)$ as $t^{2/3}$. We prove these conjectures rigorously; we also find limit distributions for the rescaled velocity $t^{-1/3} v(t)$ and position $t^{-2/3} x(t)$. In addition, quite unexpectedly, we discover that the particle’s motion is recurrent. That means that a ball dropped on an idealized Galton board will roll down, but from time to time it should bounce all the way back up (with probability one).References
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Bibliographic Information
- N. Chernov
- Affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294
- D. Dolgopyat
- Affiliation: Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
- MR Author ID: 357840
- Received by editor(s): December 12, 2007
- Published electronically: October 21, 2008
- © Copyright 2008 by the authors
- Journal: J. Amer. Math. Soc. 22 (2009), 821-858
- MSC (2000): Primary 37D50
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1090/S0894-0347-08-00626-7
- MathSciNet review: 2505302