Surfaces with minimal random weights and maximal flows: a higher dimensional version of first-passage percolation (Q1074965)

Let \(B(k,\ell,m)\) be the box \([0,k]\times [0,\ell]\times [0,m]\) in \({\mathbb R}^ 3\) and \(F_ 0=\{x=(x(1),x(2),x(3)): x(3)=0,\;x\in B(k,\ell,m)\}\) be its bottom, and \(F_ m=\{x: x(3)=m,\;x\in B(k,\ell,m)\}\) its top. Assign to each edge \(e\) of \({\mathbb Z}^ 3\) a random capacity, \(t(e)\), such that the \(\{t(e): e\in {\mathbb Z}^ 3\}\) are i.i.d. \(\Phi(k,\ell,m)\) denotes the maximal flow through the edges of \({\mathbb Z}^ 3\) in \(B(k,\ell,m)\) from \(F_ 0\) to \(F_ m\) under these capacity limitations. Under suitable conditions \((k\ell)^{-1}\Phi(k,\ell,m)\) converges w.p. 1 to a constant \(\nu\). By the max-flow min-cut theorem this is equivalent to a statement about the asymptotic behavior of the minimal value assigned to any ``surface'' in \(B(k,\ell,m)\) made up of unit squares (plaquettes) on \({\mathbb Z}^ 3+(\,,\,,\,)\) which separates \(F_ 0\) from \(F_ m\). Here the value, \(t(\pi^*)\), of the plaquette \(\pi^*\) which intersects the edge \(e\) is taken as \(t(e)\), and the value of a surface made up of the plaquettes \(\pi^*_ 1,\dots,\pi^*_ k\) is \(\sum^{k}_{i=1}v(\pi^*_ i)\). The asymptotic behavior of values assigned to certain minimizing surfaces is a direct generalization of first-passage percolation, and many of the tools come from first-passage percolation.