If the initial one-spin set is finite on the square lattice, voter-model duality gives . The transition probabilities tend to zero on this infinite lattice; their Fourier transform also proves the limit of a sequence by dominated convergence. A union bound on any finite set of observation sites then proves weak convergence of probability measures to the all-zero point mass in the product topology.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 30 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
In the voter model on , each site has a rate-one Poisson process clock; when it rings, that site copies one of its four neighbors, chosen uniformly. States are zero or one. For a cylinder function , the local infinitesimal generator iswhere agrees with except that the voter model opinion at is replaced by the voter model opinion at . Only sites in the support of contribute, so this infinitesimal generator sum is finite.
The voter-model duality comes from independent Poisson processes of copying arrows of rate on each ordered neighboring pair. Trace the ancestors of specified sites backwards from time : each ancestral line is a rate-one continuous-time random walk with uniform nearest-neighbor steps, and lines coalesce when they meet. The voter model opinions at time are the initial voter model opinions at those ancestral locations. This construction also explains the general duality theorem being used.
Two ancestral walks on meet almost surely. Until their meeting, their difference is a rate-two symmetric nearest-neighbor walk, and simple random walk in two dimensions is recurrent. If is their meeting time, this givesfor every initial law . If is invariant, the left side is the fixed probability , so it is zero. This holds for every pair. Countability then implies that is concentrated on configurations with all voter model opinions equal. Both constant configurations are absorbing state. Thus the invariant measures of the two-dimensional voter model are exactlyNo translation-invariance assumption on was used.
For the last assertion, let the initial set of one-valued opinions be finite. Single-line duality givesEach transition probability tends to zero. One direct verification is the Fourier transform for the rate-one walk:The integrand has modulus at most one and tends to zero except at the single point ; dominated convergence proves the claim. For any finite observation set , the union bound now givesTherefore every finite voter model opinion pattern converges in law to the all-zero pattern. These cylinder distributions determine weak convergence of probability measures in the compact product topology, proving finite-seed local extinction in the voter model and
Voter model 2026-10-14
At each site, a rate-one clock rings and the site copies the state of a randomly chosen neighbor. The model is a Markov process on Ising spin configurations, interpreted through its local update infinitesimal generator. All constant configurations are absorbing state. Tracing copying arrows backwards gives the voter-model duality with coalescing random walks.