CRITICALSURFACEOFTHE1-2MODEL.PDFVIP

CRITICAL SURFACE OF THE 1-2 MODEL GEOFFREY R. GRIMMETT AND ZHONGYANG LI Abstract. The 1-2 model on the hexagonal lattice is a model of statistical me- chanics in which each vertex is constrained to have degree either 1 or 2. There are three types of edge, and three corresponding parameters√ √ a√, b, c. It is proved that, when a ≥ b ≥ c 0, the surface given by a = b + c is critical. The proof hinges upon a representation of the partition function in terms of that of an Ising-type model on an enhanced graph, and thereby on the partition function of a dimer model. This dimer model may be studied via the Pfa?an representation of Fisher, Kasteleyn, and Temperley. It is proved, in addition, that the two-edge correlation function decays exponentially with distance when a2 b2 + c2. 1. Introduction and background The 1-2 model on the hexagonal lattice was introduced by Schwartz and Bruck [24] as an intermediary in the calculation of the capacity of a constrained coding system. They expressed the capacity via holographic reductions (see [27]) in terms of the number of perfect matchings (or dimer con?gurations), and the latter may be studied via the Pfa?an method of Fisher, Kasteleyn, and Temperley [10, 14, 25]. The 1-2 model may be viewed as a model of statistical mechanics of independent interest, and it is related to the Ising model and the dimer model. In the current paper, we study the 1-2 model within this context, and we establish the exact form of the associated critical curve. A 1-2 con?guration on the hexagonal lattice H = (V, E) is a subset F of edges such that every vertex is incident with either one or two edges of F . There are three real parameters a, b, c 0, which are associated with the three classes of edges of H. The weight of a con?guration on a ?nite region is the product over vertices v of one of a, b, c chosen according to the edge-