Directed animals and gas models revisited (Q1010631)

Summary: We revisit the enumeration of directed animals using gas models. We show that there exists a natural construction of random directed animals on any directed graph together with a particles system -- a gas model with nearest exclusion -- that explains combinatorially the formal link known between the density of the gas model and the generating function of directed animals counted according to the area. This provides some new methods to compute the generating function of directed animals counted according to area, and leads in the particular case of the square lattice to new combinatorial results and questions. A model of gas related to directed animals counted according to area and perimeter on any directed graph is also exhibited.