We consider the symmetric simple exclusion process in Z^d with quenched bounded dynamic random conductances and prove its hydrodynamic limit in path space. The main tool is the connection, due to the self-duality of the process, between the invariance principle for single particles starting from all points and the macroscopic behavior of the density field. While the hydrodynamic limit at fixed macroscopic times is obtained via a generalization to the time-inhomogeneous context of the strategy introduced in [41], in order to prove tightness for the sequence of empirical density fields we develop a new criterion based on the notion of uniform conditional stochastic continuity, following [50]. In conclusion, we show that uniform elliptic dynamic conductances provide an example of environments in which the so-called arbitrary starting point invariance principle may be derived from the invariance principle of a single particle starting from the origin. Therefore, our hydrodynamics result applies to the examples of quenched environments considered in, e.g., [1], [3], [6] in combination with the hypothesis of uniform ellipticity.

We show that in Abelian sandpiles on infinite Galton–Watson trees, the probability that the total avalanche has more than t topplings decays as t^{- 1 / 2}. We prove both quenched and annealed bounds, under suitable moment conditions. Our proofs are based on an analysis of the conductance martingale of Morris (Probab Theory Relat Fields 125:259–265, 2003), that was previously used by Lyons et al. (Electron J Probab 13(58):1702–1725, 2008) to study uniform spanning forests on Z^d, d≥ 3 , and other transient graphs.

We prove that the Abelian sandpile model on a random binary and binomial tree, as introduced in Redig, Ruszel, and Saada [J. Stat. Phys. 147, 653-677 (2012)], is not critical for all branching probabilities p < 1; by estimating the tail of the annealed survival time of a random walk on the binary tree with randomly placed traps, we obtain some more information about the exponential tail of the avalanche radius. Next we study the sandpile model on Zd with some additional dissipative sites: we provide examples and sufficient conditions for non-criticality; we also make a connection with the parabolic Anderson model. Finally we initiate the study of the sandpile model with both sources and sinks and give a sufficient condition for non-criticality in the presence of a finite number of sources, using a connection with the homogeneous pinning model.