Improved upper bounds for the contact process critical value (Q1897157)

The basic one-dimensional contact process is a typical interacting particle system. It exhibits the phase transitions with critical value \(\lambda_c\). The precise value \(\lambda_c\) remains unknown up to now. The best known bounds are \(1.539 < \lambda_c < 2\). The upper bound is due to \textit{R. Holley} and the author [Ann. Probab. 6, 198-206 (1978; Zbl 0375.60111)]. The original proof is based on a renewal measure. The author develops a new technique. That is, using some perturbations of the measure instead of the original one. This needs a careful design and a lot of computations. In any case, the author is able to produce a new upper bound 1.942 by hand computation.