Higher-order Airy scaling in deformed Dyck paths (Q2628654)

The authors consider lattice paths in \(\mathbb{Z}^2\) starting at the origin, staying on or above the \(x\)-axis, taking steps \((1,1)\), \((1,-1)\) and \((0,2)\), and ending at \((2n,0)\). Each walk has a weight given by \(w\) raised to the number of \((0,2)\) steps and \(t\) raised to the area enclosed between the path and the \(x\)-axis. They call such a path a deformed Dyck path, since the absence of \((0,2)\) steps reduces this to a standard Dyck path. By considering the singularities of the weighted generating function of deformed Dyck paths, the authors derive the phase diagram of the model exactly. They show the existence of two phases and a multicritical point on the phase boundary.