Monotone loop models and rational resonance (Q718897)

Let \(T_{n,m}=\mathbb{Z}_n\times\mathbb{Z}_m\) be the \(n,m\)-torus, where \(\mathbb{Z}_n=\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z}\). The authors consider configurations consisting of collections of vertex-disjoint monotone lattice cycles on \(T_{n,m}\). Define a random mapping \(\phi:T_{n,m}\to T_{n,m}\) by \(\phi(x,y)=(x+1,y)\) or \((x,y+1)\), these choices being made independently over the \(nm\) vertices of \(T_{n,m}\). This mapping \(\phi\), called a quenched random walk, represents a dynamical system with at least one periodic orbit. The dynamical system \(\phi\) is equivalent to another model, the cycle-rooted spanning forest. The authors study the orbit structure of such quenched random walks \(\phi\) in the limit \(n,m\to\infty\), and show how it depends sensitively on the ratio \(m/n\). For \(m/n\) near a rational \(p/q\), the number of cycles is likely to be of order \(\sqrt{n}\), each of these cycles of length \(\mathcal{O}(n)\), whereas for \(m/n\) far from any rational with small denominator, there are a bounded number of cycles, and for typical \(m/n\) each cycle has length of order \(n^{4/3}\).