Interface between competing random walks on a cycle

Abstract

We consider a competition between two independent random walks on a cycle of length $N$. Each vertex is claimed by the walker that visits it first, and remains claimed thereafter. We prove that if the initial distance between the walkers is $d$, then the expected number of edges whose endpoints are claimed by different walkers is of order $\ln(1+N/d).$ This confirms the logarithmic dependence on $N/d$ predicted in Gomes Jr. et al. [Coloring of a one-dimensional lattice by two independent random walkers. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 225.1 (1996): 81-88].