Related papers: Total variation cutoff for the transpose top-$2$ w…
We use the correlation matrix of the generating distribution to determine the mixing time for random walks on the torus $(\mathbb{Z}/q\mathbb{Z})^n$. We present our method in the context of the Diaconis-Gangolli random walk on both the $1…
Establishing cutoff, an abrupt transition from "not mixed" to "well mixed", is a classical topic in the theory of mixing times for Markov chains. Interest has grown recently in determining not only the existence of cutoff and the order of…
We consider a family of card shuffles of $n$ cards in which the allowed moves involve transpositions corresponding to the Jucys--Murphy elements of the symmetric group $\{S_m\}_{m \leq n}$. We determine the eigenvalues of the corresponding…
We analyse the mixing profile of a random walk on a dynamic random permutation, focusing on the regime where the walk evolves much faster than the permutation. Two types of dynamics generated by random transpositions are considered: one…
We give refined estimates for the discrete time and continuous time versions of some basic random walks on the symmetric and alternating groups $S_n$ and $A_n$. We consider the following models: random transposition, transpose top with…
We show that the random transposition walk on the symmetric group $S_n$ has cutoff in separation distance at $\frac{1}{2}n \log n$, by constructing a strong stationary time. The construction involves working with cycle types of permutations…
We show that the classical Kac's random walk on $(n-1)$-sphere $S^{n-1}$ starting from the point mass at $e_1$ mixes in $\mathcal{O}(n^5(\log n)^3)$ steps in total variation distance. The main argument uses a truncation of the running…
We introduce and analyze the $S_k$ shuffle on $N$ cards, a natural generalization of the celebrated random adjacent transposition shuffle. In the $S_k$ shuffle, we choose uniformly at random a block of $k$ consecutive cards, and shuffle…
This paper studies the random walk on the hypercube $(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})^n$ which at each step flips $k$ randomly chosen coordinates. We prove that the mixing time for this walk is of order $\frac{n}{k} \log n$. We also prove that if…
How many shuffles are needed to mix up a deck of cards? This question may be answered in the language of a random walk on the symmetric group, $S_{52}$. This generalises neatly to the study of random walks on finite groups, themselves a…
We survey recent results concerning the total-variation mixing time of the simple exclusion process on the segment (symmetric and asymmetric) and a continuum analog, the simple random walk on the simplex with an emphasis on cutoff results.…
We study the mixing time of random walks on small-world networks modelled as follows: starting with the 2-dimensional periodic grid, each pair of vertices $\{u,v\}$ with distance $d>1$ is added as a "long-range" edge with probability…
We investigate the $k$-cycle shuffle on repeated cards, namely on a deck consisting of $l$ identical copies of each of $m$ card types, with total size $n=ml$. We establish asymptotic results for the total variation mixing of this shuffle,…
We present an overview of the representation theoretic techniques used to study the mixing times of random walks on finite groups. We focus on the card shuffle studied by Diaconis and Shahshahani in the 1980s and a recent improvement on…
In the Gilbert-Shannon-Reeds shuffle, a deck of $N$ cards is cut into two approximately equal parts which are then riffled uniformly at random. Bayer and Diaconis famously showed that this Markov chain undergoes cutoff in total variation…
We analyze the general biased adjacent transposition shuffle process, which is a well-studied Markov chain on the symmetric group $S_n$. In each step, an adjacent pair of elements $i$ and $j$ are chosen, and then $i$ is placed ahead of $j$…
Given a finite graph G, a vertex of the lamplighter graph consists of a zero-one labeling of the vertices of G, and a marked vertex of G. For transitive graphs G, we show that, up to constants, the relaxation time for simple random walk in…
We prove a conjecture raised by the work of Diaconis and Shahshahani (1981) about the mixing time of random walks on the permutation group induced by a given conjugacy class. To do this we exploit a connection with coalescence and…
Determining the mixing time of Kac's random walk on the sphere $\mathrm{S}^{n-1}$ is a long-standing open problem. We show that the total variation mixing time of Kac's walk on $\mathrm{S}^{n-1}$ is between $\frac{1}{2} \, n \log(n)$ and…
Consider the subgraph of the discrete $d$-dimensional torus of size length $N$, $d\ge3$, induced by the range of the simple random walk on the torus run until the time $uN^d$. We prove that for all $d\ge 3$ and $u>0$, the mixing time for…