Joint distribution of Busemann functions in the exactly solvable corner growth model

Abstract: The 1+1 dimensional corner growth model with exponential weights is a centrally important exactly solvable model in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang class of statistical mechanical models. While significant progress has been made on the fluctuations of the growing random shape, understanding of the optimal paths, or geodesics, is less developed. The Busemann function is a useful analytical tool for studying geodesics. This paper describes the joint distribution of the Busemann functions, simultaneously in all directions of growth. As applications of this description we derive a marked point process representation for the Busemann function across a single lattice edge and calculate some marginal distributions of Busemann functions and semi-infinite geodesics.