Sharp uniform-in-time mean-field convergence for singular periodic Riesz flows (Q7006815)

This paper investigates the dynamics of systems of \( N \) particles interacting via Riesz-type potentials under mean-field scaling on the torus \( \mathbb{T}^d \), for dimensions \( d \geq 1 \). The authors analyze both conservative and gradient flow dynamics, incorporating thermal noise modeled via the McKean-Vlasov framework. The main objective is to rigorously establish global-in-time behavior of the particle systems and their convergence to a limiting mean-field PDE in the large-\( N \) regime.\N\NThe authors first prove global well-posedness of the limiting PDE and establish quantitative rates of convergence toward equilibrium. These relaxation estimates play a central role in proving uniform-in-time convergence of the particle system to the mean-field limit in the case of gradient flow dynamics. The proof leverages the modulated free energy approach introduced by Bresch et al. and sharp functional inequalities for Riesz interactions recently developed by the last two named authors of the current paper. A key result is that the mean-field convergence rate is sharp with respect to the modulated energy pseudo-distance.\N\NAn important contribution is the extension of the parameter range \( d - 2 \leq s < d \) in the periodic setting, which was left open in the work by \textit{M. Rosenzweig} and \textit{S. Serfaty} [Ann. Appl. Probab. 33, No. 2, 954--998 (2023; Zbl 1516.35414)]. The authors thereby close a gap in the literature and complete the picture for gradient dynamics in the periodic case.\N\NIn the context of conservative dynamics, the paper applies the relative entropy framework of \textit{P.-E. Jabin} and \textit{Z. Wang} [Invent. Math. 214, No. 1, 523--591 (2018; Zbl 1402.35208)] to derive a uniform-in-time propagation of chaos result for systems with \({W}^{-1,\infty}\)-type kernels. This approach serves as an alternative to the method developed in [\textit{A. Guillin} et al., J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 27, No. 6, 2359--2386 (2025; Zbl 08030705)], providing a different route to time-uniform mean-field convergence.\N\NOverall, the paper offers significant advances in the understanding of interacting particle systems with singular, long-range interactions. The results are technically sharp and conceptually well-structured, unifying modulated energy techniques, functional inequalities, and entropy methods. The findings have strong implications for the analysis of stochastic and deterministic mean-field models in both theoretical and applied contexts.