Phase coexistence and slow mixing for the hard-core model on Z^2

DOI10.1007/978-3-642-40328-6_27zbMATH Open1405.68224arXiv1211.6182OpenAlexW2963577722MaRDI QIDQ2851872FDOQ2851872

Authors: Antonio Blanca, David Galvin, Dana Randall, Prasad Tetali 

Publication date: 4 October 2013

Published in: Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In the hard-core model on a finite graph we are given a parameter lambda>0, and an independent set I arises with probability proportional to lambda^|I|. On infinite graphs a Gibbs distribution is defined as a suitable limit with the correct conditional probabilities. In the infinite setting we are interested in determining when this limit is unique and when there is phase coexistence, i.e., existence of multiple Gibbs states. On finite graphs we are interested in determining the mixing time of local Markov chains. On Z^2 it is conjectured that these problems are related and that both undergo a phase transition at some critical point lambda_c approx 3.79. For phase coexistence, much of the work to date has focused on the regime of uniqueness, with the best result being recent work of Restrepo et al. showing that there is a unique Gibbs state for all lambda < 2.3882. Here we give the first non-trivial result in the other direction, showing that there are multiple Gibbs states for all lambda > 5.3646. Our proof adds two significant innovations to the standard Peierls argument. First, building on the idea of fault lines introduced by Randall, we construct an event that distinguishes two boundary conditions and always has long contours associated with it, obviating the need to accurately enumerate short contours. Second, we obtain vastly improved bounds on the number of contours by relating them to a new class of self-avoiding walks on an oriented version of Z^2. We extend our characterization of fault lines to show that local Markov chains will mix slowly when lambda > 5.3646 on lattice regions with periodic (toroidal) boundary conditions and when lambda > 7.1031 with non-periodic (free) boundary conditions. The arguments here rely on a careful analysis that relates contours to taxi walks and represent a sevenfold improvement to the previously best known values of lambda.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1211.6182

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Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Probability in computer science (algorithm analysis, random structures, phase transitions, etc.) (68Q87) Lattice systems (Ising, dimer, Potts, etc.) and systems on graphs arising in equilibrium statistical mechanics (82B20)

Cited In (12)

• Hitting time asymptotics for hard-core interactions on grids
• Percolation games, probabilistic cellular automata, and the hard-core model
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Tunneling of the hard-core model on finite triangular lattices
• Spectral independence in high-dimensional expanders and applications to the hardcore model
• Algorithms to approximately count and sample conforming colorings of graphs
• Correlation decay for hard spheres via Markov chains
• Sampling weighted perfect matchings on the square-octagon lattice
• Correlation decay and the absence of zeros property of partition functions
• Phase coexistence for the hard-core model on \(\mathbb{Z}^2\)
• Algorithms and Computation
• Slow Mixing of Markov Chains Using Fault Lines and Fat Contours

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