English

Front Selection Is Not Determined by Renormalization-Group Stability

Statistical Mechanics 2026-08-03 v1

Abstract

The Fisher--Kolmogorov--Petrovsky--Piskunov equation provides a paradigmatic example of front propagation and asymptotic-state selection. Using a unified renormalization-group (RG) framework, we show that its traveling-wave solutions form a continuous family of RG fixed points and that all fronts with v2v \ge 2 are RG-stable. Nevertheless, the asymptotically selected front is not determined by RG stability. The FKPP equation therefore provides an explicit example in which RG fixed-point stability and asymptotic-state selection are distinct concepts.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2608.02211,
  title  = {Front Selection Is Not Determined by Renormalization-Group Stability},
  author = {Ko Okumura},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2608.02211},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

5 pages, no figure