The bullet problem with discrete speeds

Abstract

Bullets are fired, one per second, with independent speeds sampled uniformly from a discrete set. Collisions result in mutual annihilation. We show that the second fastest bullet survives with positive probability, while a slowest bullet does not. This also holds for exponential spacings between firing times, and for certain non-uniform measures that place less probability on the second fastest bullet. Our results provide new insights into a two-sided version of the bullet process known to physicists as ballistic annihilation.

12 pages, 3 figures. Streamlined introduction and proofs. Simplified theorem statements. Added applications to ballistic annihilation. Updated references