Aldous-Diaconis spectral-gap conjecture for the symmetric simple exclusion process

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Let Λ\Lambda be a finite graph, and let LL be the generator of the symmetric simple exclusion process with positive jump rates JxyJ_{xy} on its edges. Let HΛ(n)H_\Lambda^{(n)} be the invariant subspace of configurations with exactly nn particles, and let λ(n)\lambda(n) denote the smallest positive eigenvalue of L∣HΛ(n)L\vert_{H_\Lambda^{(n)}}. Aldous-Diaconis conjecture.

λ(n)=λ(1),1≤n≤∣Λ∣−1.\lambda(n)=\lambda(1),\quad 1\leq n\leq\lvert\Lambda\rvert-1.

Thus the spectral gap of the exclusion process is independent of the particle number, matching the one-particle spectral gap. The source attributes the conjecture to Aldous, while noting that Aldous said it arose in a conversation with Diaconis; the supplied text gives no resolution status.

References

Primary source

Bruno Nachtergaele and Shannon Starr, “Ordering of Energy Levels in Heisenberg Models and Applications”, arXiv:math-ph/0503056 (2005).

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