Large deviations of Schramm-Loewner evolutions: a survey (Q2152782)

This is an incredible effort to summarise some of the ``first'' results related to large deviations principle in the fascinating and active subfield of probability theory devoted to the Schramm-Loewner evolutions (SLEs). The SLEs are a one-parameter family of random conformally invariant curves that are non-self-crossing. The limits of the parameter, denoted by \(\kappa\), play an important role in distinguishing two important cases. When \(\kappa \to 0\), we get the chordal and mutlichordal cases, while the limit \(\kappa \to \infty\) yields the radial case. Given a standard Brownian motion \((B_t)_{t\ge 0}\), the chordal Schramm-Loewner evolution of parameter \(\kappa \ge 0\), which we denote by \(\mathsf{SLE}_\kappa\), in the upper half plane with boundaries at 0 and \(\infty\) at time \(t\) is the hull generated by \(\kappa B_t\) via the Loewner transform. Besides giving random self-avoiding paths, SLEs also describe the interfaces in a number of conformally invariant systems because of a certain scaling invariance and a domain Markov property of the Loewner chains. In the chordal case, i.e., when \(\kappa \to 0+\), the first big result is that the chordal \(\mathsf{SLE}_{\kappa}\) curves satisfy a large deviations principle with the Loewner energy as the good rate function, which possesses nice analytic properties such as reversibility. A similar result is obtained in the multi-chordal case where the rate function is the multi-chordal Loewner energy. The radial \(\mathsf{SLE}_{\kappa}\) is the curve that is obtained by tracing out the hulls driven by a Brownian motion of variance \(\kappa\) on the unit circle. Here, the first big result is that the \(\mathsf{SLE}_{\kappa}\) satisfies a large deviations principle as \(\kappa \to \infty\) with Loewner-Kufarev energy as the good rate function. As I noted earlier, the author has taken up, quite successfully, the ambitious task of painting the broad landscape of large deviations principles of \(\mathsf{SLE}_{\kappa}\) in the regimes \(\kappa \to 0+\) and \(\kappa\to \infty\) while bringing out the beautiful interplay between random conformal geometry and the deterministic world of large deviations. More specifically, how the rate functions are related to the Weil-Petersson class of quasicircles and real rational functions, as presented in this paper, is a neat study in itself. Having said that, this is not an easy read. However, the paper definitely serves the purpose as an excellent review of the known results, conjectures, and still open questions.