I am an assistant professor at the Department of Mathematics at Northeastern University, working on probability theory in discrete systems and statistical physics. I am broadly interested in discrete systems that undergo phase transition phenomena.

My research has two main focus areas: first, I work on lattice models, such as the Ising model, the random-cluster model, or the loop-O(n) model. More specifically, I have been working on using tools from probability, analysis, and exactly solvable systems to gain insight into the critical behavior of some classical models of statistical physics.

I am also interested in large deviations of subgraph counts in random graphs, studying the localization phenomena associated with the upper tails of these objects.

Before arriving to Boston, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Ron Peled at Tel Aviv University, Prof. Hugo Duminil-Copin at IHES Paris and the University of Geneva, and Prof. Stanislav Smirnov at the University of Geneva. I completed my PhD at the Courant Institute, where I was advised by Prof. Sourav Chaterjee, currently at Stanford University, and Prof. Joel Spencer.

Curriculum vitae available here.

Publications

N. Crawford, A. Glazman, M. Harel, R. Peled. Macroscopic loops in the loop O(n) model via the XOR trick | arxiv

H. Duminil-Copin, M. Harel, B. Laslier, A. Raoufi, G. Ray. Roughness of the height function for square-ice | Submitted | arxiv

M. Aizenman, M. Harel, R. Peled. Exponential decay of correlations in the 2D random field Ising model | Journal of Statistical Physics, Special Issue Dedicated to Joel Lebowitz, 1-28 | arxiv

M. Harel, F. Mousset, W. Samotij. Upper tails via high moments and entropic stability | Submitted | arxiv

M. Harel, Y. Spinka. Finitary codings for the random-cluster model and other infinite-range monotone models | Submitted | arxiv

H. Duminil-Copin, M. Gangebin, M. Harel, I. Manolescu, V. Tassion. Discontinuity of the phase transition for the planar random-cluster and Potts models with q >4 | To appear in Annales Scientifiques de l'ENS | arxiv

H. Duminil-Copin, M. Gangebin, M. Harel, I. Manolescu, V. Tassion. The Bethe Ansatz for the six-vertex and XXZ models: an exposition | Probability Surveys, 15, 102-130 | arxiv

M. Harel, E. Mossel, P. Strack, O. Tamuz. Rational Groupthink | To appear in Quarterly Journal of Economics | arxiv

S. Chatterjee, M. Harel. Localization in Random Geometric Graphs With Too Many Edges | Annals of Probability 48(2): 574-621 | arxiv

A. Kleinman, M. Harel, L. Pachter. Affine and Projective Tree Metric Theorems | Annals of Combinatorics, 17(1), 205-228 | arxiv

Contact Details

Address: Matan Harel
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Email: m.harel ÅT northeastern DOT edu