Gaussian asymptotics of discrete $β$-ensembles

Abstract: We introduce and study stochastic $N$-particle ensembles which are discretizations for general-$\beta$ log-gases of random matrix theory. The examples include random tilings, families of non-intersecting paths, $(z,w)$-measures, etc. We prove that under technical assumptions on general analytic potential, the global fluctuations for such ensembles are asymptotically Gaussian as $N\to\infty$. The covariance is universal and coincides with its counterpart in random matrix theory. Our main tool is an appropriate discrete version of the Schwinger-Dyson (or loop) equations, which originates in the work of Nekrasov and his collaborators.