Universality for multiplicative statistics of Hermitian random matrices and the integro-differential Painlevé II equation

Abstract: We study multiplicative statistics for the eigenvalues of unitarily-invariant Hermitian random matrix models. We consider one-cut regular polynomial potentials and a large class of multiplicative statistics. We show that in the large matrix limit several associated quantities converge to limits which are universal in both the potential and the family of multiplicative statistics considered. In turn, such universal limits are described by the integro-differential Painlev\'e II equation, and in particular they connect the random matrix models considered with the narrow wedge solution to the KPZ equation at any finite time.