%0 Journal Article
%T Front Propagation with Rejuvenation in Flipping Processes
%A T. Antal
%A D. ben-Avraham
%A E. Ben-Naim
%A P. L. Krapivsky
%J Mathematics
%D 2008
%I arXiv
%R 10.1088/1751-8113/41/46/465002
%X We study a directed flipping process that underlies the performance of the random edge simplex algorithm. In this stochastic process, which takes place on a one-dimensional lattice whose sites may be either occupied or vacant, occupied sites become vacant at a constant rate and simultaneously cause all sites to the right to change their state. This random process exhibits rich phenomenology. First, there is a front, defined by the position of the left-most occupied site, that propagates at a nontrivial velocity. Second, the front involves a depletion zone with an excess of vacant sites. The total excess D_k increases logarithmically, D_k ~ ln k, with the distance k from the front. Third, the front exhibits rejuvenation -- young fronts are vigorous but old fronts are sluggish. We investigate these phenomena using a quasi-static approximation, direct solutions of small systems, and numerical simulations.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/0808.0159v1