Critical behavior of loops and biconnected clusters on fractals of dimension d < 2

We solve the O(n) model, defined in terms of self- and mutually avoiding loops coexisting with voids, on a 3-simplex fractal lattice, using an exact real space renormalization group technique. As the density of voids is decreased, the model shows a critical point, and for even lower densities of voids, there is a dense phase showing power-law correlations, with critical exponents that depend on n, but are independent of density. At n=-2 on the dilute branch, a trivalent vertex defect acts as a marginal perturbation. We define a model of biconnected clusters which allows for a finite density of such vertices. As n is varied, we get a line of critical points of this generalized model, emanating from the point of marginality in the original loop model. We also study another perturbation of adding local bending rigidity to the loop model, and find that it does not affect the universality class.Comment: 14 pages,10 figure

Universality classes of dense polymers and conformal sigma models

In the usual statistical model of a dense polymer (a single space-filling loop on a lattice) in two dimensions the loop does not cross itself. We modify this by including intersections in which {\em three} lines can cross at the same point, with some statistical weight w per crossing. We show that our model describes a line of critical theories with continuously-varying exponents depending on w, described by a conformally-invariant non-linear sigma model with varying coupling constant g_\sigma^2 >0. For the boundary critical behavior, or the model defined in a strip, we propose an exact formula for the \ell-leg exponents, h_\ell=g_\sigma^2 \ell(\ell-2)/8, which is shown numerically to hold very well.Comment: 5 page