Double dimers, conformal loop ensembles and isomonodromic deformations (Q1757296)

Summary: The double-dimer model consists in superimposing two independent, identically distributed perfect matchings on a planar graph, which produces an ensemble of non-intersecting loops. In [Commun. Math. Phys. 326, No. 2, 477--497 (2014; Zbl 1283.05218)] , \textit{R. Kenyon}established conformal invariance in the small mesh limit by considering topological observables of the model parameterized by \(\mathrm{SL}_2(\mathbb{C})\) representations of the fundamental group of the punctured domain. The scaling limit is conjectured to be \(\mathrm{CLE}_4\), the Conformal Loop Ensemble at \(\kappa = 4\) [\textit{S. Sheffield} and \textit{W. Werner}, Ann. Math. (2) 176, No. 3, 1827--1917 (2012; Zbl 1271.60090)]. In support of this conjecture, we prove that a large subclass of these topological correlators converge to their putative \(\mathrm{CLE}_4\) limit. Both the small mesh limit of the double-dimer correlators and the corresponding \(\mathrm{CLE}_4\) correlators are identified in terms of the \(\tau\)-functions introduced by Jimbo, Miwa and Ueno [\textit{M. Jimbo} et al., Physica D 2, No. 2, 306--352 (1981; Zbl 1194.34167)] in the context of isomonodromic deformations.