A particle system with cooperative branching and coalescence (Q2346084)

The authors introduce a one-dimensional model of particles performing independent random walks, where only pairs of particles can produce offspring (``cooperative branching''), and particles that land on an occupied site merge with the particle present on that site (``coalescence''). The main result says that the cooperative branching-coalescence exhibits a phase transition, both in terms of its upper invariant law and in terms of survival. The authors provide a proof in the following two theorems. {Theorem} 3 (Phase transition). (a) There exists \( 1\leq \lambda_c<\infty\) such that \(\bar{\nu}_\lambda=\delta_\emptyset\) for \( \lambda<\lambda_c\) but \(\bar{\nu}_\lambda\) is nontrivial for \(\lambda>\lambda_c\). (b) There exists \( 1\leq\lambda_c<\infty\) such that the process dies out for \( \lambda<\lambda'_c \) and survives for \(\lambda>\lambda'_c\). (Here the upper invariant laws \(\bar{\nu}_\lambda,\bar{\nu}_\lambda'\) corresponding to cooperative branching rates \(\lambda\leq\lambda'\) are stochastically ordered as \(\bar{\nu}_\lambda\leq\bar{\nu}_\lambda'\).) {Theorem} 4 (Decay rate in the subcritical regime). Let \(\eta^{(0,1)}\) and \(\eta^Z\) be cooperative branching-coalescent with cooperative branching rate \( \lambda\geq 0\), starting with two particles at neighboring sites or in the fully occupied state, respectively. Then there exists a constant \(c\) such that for all \(\lambda\geq 0\), \[ P[|\eta^{(0,1)}|\geq 2]\geq ct^{{-1/2}}\;\;\; \text{and}\;\;\; P[0\in\eta_t^Z]\geq ct^{{-1/2}} \;\;\;(t\geq 0). \] Moreover, there exists a constant \(C<\infty\) such that for each \(0\leq \lambda<1/2\), \[ P[|\eta^{(0,1)}|\geq 2]\geq ct^{{-1/2}}\;\;\; \text{and}\;\;\; P[0\in\eta_t^Z]\geq ct^{{-1/2}} \;\;\;(t\geq 0). \]