Expected maximum of bridge random walks & Levy flights

We consider one-dimensional discrete-time random walks (RWs) with arbitrary symmetric and continuous jump distributions $f(eta)$, including the case of Levy flights. We study the expected maximum ${mathbb E}[M_n]$ of bridge RWs, i.e., RWs starting and ending at the origin after $n$ steps. We obtain an exact analytical expression for ${mathbb E}[M_n]$ valid for any $n$ and jump distribution $f(eta)$, which we then analyze in the large $n$ limit up to second leading order term. For jump distributions whose Fourier transform behaves, for small $k$, as $hat f(k) sim 1 - |a, k|^mu$ with a Levy index $0<mu leq 2$ and an arbitrary length scale $a>0$, we find that, at leading order for large $n$, ${mathbb E}[M_n]sim a, h_1(mu), n^{1/mu}$. We obtain an explicit expression for the amplitude $h_1(mu)$ and find that it carries the signature of the bridge condition, being different from its counterpart for the free random walk. For $mu=2$, we find that the second leading order term is a constant, which, quite remarkably, is the same as its counterpart for the free RW. For generic $0< mu < 2$, this second leading order term is a growing function of $n$, which depends non-trivially on further details of $hat f (k)$, beyond the Levy index $mu$. Finally, we apply our results to compute the mean perimeter of the convex hull of the $2d$ Rouse polymer chain and of the $2d$ run-and-tumble particle, as well as to the computation of the survival probability in a bridge version of the well-known lamb-lion capture problem.