Directed last passage percolation with discontinuous weights

Abstract

We prove that a directed last passage percolation model with discontinuous macroscopic (non-random) inhomogeneities has a continuum limit that corresponds to solving a Hamilton-Jacobi equation in the viscosity sense. This Hamilton-Jacobi equation is closely related to the conservation law for the hydrodynamic limit of the totally asymmetric simple exclusion process. We also prove convergence of a numerical scheme for the Hamilton-Jacobi equation and present an algorithm based on dynamic programming for finding the asymptotic shapes of maximal directed paths.