Probability Seminar: Pietro Caputo “Nonlinear exchange dynamics for spin systems”

Event details Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2026 Time: 3:00 PM to 3:00 PM Location: Gateway B1015 Type: Lecture / Workshop About this event Abstract: We discuss a class of nonlinear exchange dynamics for interacting spin systems, inspired by Boltzmann-type equations from kinetic theory. These dynamics provide a nonlinear Monte Carlo approach for sampling Gibbs measures under prescribed magnetization or density constraints. We focus on the Ising and hard-core models and present convergence results showing exponential relaxation to equilibrium in the weak-interaction and low-density regimes, respectively, with optimal decay rates independent of the initial condition. The proofs are based on novel coupling techniques as well as ideas from the Kac program in kinetic theory, including uniform functional inequalities for the associated particle systems. We also discuss some possible algorithmic applications. This joint work with Abbaszadeh Minab, Zongchen Chen, Mario Morellini, and Alistair Sinclair. Official event details: https://events.berkeley.edu/probability-seminar/event/328082-probability-seminar-pietro-caputo-nonlinear