  We study a random walk pinning model, where conditioned on a simple random
walk Y on Z^d acting as a random medium, the path measure of a second
independent simple random walk X up to time t is Gibbs transformed with
Hamiltonian -L_t(X,Y), where L_t(X,Y) is the collision local time between X and
Y up to time t. This model arises naturally in various contexts, including the
study of the parabolic Anderson model with moving catalysts, the parabolic
Anderson model with Brownian noise, and the directed polymer model. It falls in
the same framework as the pinning and copolymer models, and exhibits a
localization-delocalization transition as the inverse temperature \beta varies.
We show that in dimensions d=1,2, the annealed and quenched critical values of
\beta are both 0, while in dimensions d\geq 4, the quenched critical value of
\beta is strictly larger than the annealed critical value (which is positive).
This implies the existence of certain intermediate regimes for the parabolic
Anderson model with Brownian noise and the directed polymer model. For d\geq 5,
the same result has recently been established by Birkner, Greven and den
Hollander via a quenched large deviation principle. Our proof is based on a
fractional moment method used recently by Derrida, Giacomin, Lacoin and
Toninelli to establish the non-coincidence of annealed and quenched critical
points for the pinning model in the disorder-relevant regime. The critical case
d=3 remains open.
