Counting hypergraph matchings up to uniqueness threshold

We study the problem of approximately counting matchings in hypergraphs of bounded maximum degree and maximum size of hyperedges. With an activity parameter $\lambda$, each matching $M$ is assigned a weight $\lambda^{|M|}$. The counting problem is formulated as computing a partition function that gives the sum of the weights of all matchings in a hypergraph. This problem unifies two extensively studied statistical physics models in approximate counting: the hardcore model (graph independent sets) and the monomer-dimer model (graph matchings). For this model, the critical activity $\lambda_c= \frac{d^d}{k (d-1)^{d+1}}$ is the threshold for the uniqueness of Gibbs measures on the infinite $(d+1)$-uniform $(k+1)$-regular hypertree. Consider hypergraphs of maximum degree at most $k+1$ and maximum size of hyperedges at most $d+1$. We show that when $\lambda < \lambda_c$, there is an FPTAS for computing the partition function; and when $\lambda = \lambda_c$, there is a PTAS for computing the log-partition function. These algorithms are based on the decay of correlation (strong spatial mixing) property of Gibbs distributions. When $\lambda > 2\lambda_c$, there is no PRAS for the partition function or the log-partition function unless NP$=$RP. Towards obtaining a sharp transition of computational complexity of approximate counting, we study the local convergence from a sequence of finite hypergraphs to the infinite lattice with specified symmetry. We show a surprising connection between the local convergence and the reversibility of a natural random walk. This leads us to a barrier for the hardness result: The non-uniqueness of infinite Gibbs measure is not realizable by any finite gadgets

Birthday Inequalities, Repulsion, and Hard Spheres

We study a birthday inequality in random geometric graphs: the probability of the empty graph is upper bounded by the product of the probabilities that each edge is absent. We show the birthday inequality holds at low densities, but does not hold in general. We give three different applications of the birthday inequality in statistical physics and combinatorics: we prove lower bounds on the free energy of the hard sphere model and upper bounds on the number of independent sets and matchings of a given size in d-regular graphs. The birthday inequality is implied by a repulsion inequality: the expected volume of the union of spheres of radius r around n randomly placed centers increases if we condition on the event that the centers are at pairwise distance greater than r. Surprisingly we show that the repulsion inequality is not true in general, and in particular that it fails in 24-dimensional Euclidean space: conditioning on the pairwise repulsion of centers of 24-dimensional spheres can decrease the expected volume of their union