Large deviations of currents in diffusions with reflective boundaries

We study the large deviations of current-type observables defined for Markov diffusion processes evolving in smooth bounded regions of R-d with reflections at the boundaries. We derive for these the correct boundary conditions that must be imposed on the spectral problem associated with the scaled cumulant generating function, which gives, by Legendre transform, the rate function characterizing the likelihood of current fluctuations. Two methods for obtaining the boundary conditions are presented, based on the diffusive limit of random walks and on the Feynman-Kac equation underlying the evolution of generating functions. Our results generalize recent works on density-type observables, and are illustrated for an N-particle single-file diffusion on a ring, which can be mapped to a reflected N-dimensional diffusion.

Automated summary

In this work, we investigate the large deviations of current-type observables in Markov diffusion processes evolving in bounded regions with reflections at the boundaries, deriving the correct boundary conditions required for the associated spectral problem. Our results extend recent research on density-type observables and are illustrated for a specific N-particle diffusion scenario.