Percolation and local isoperimetric inequalities

In this paper we establish some relations between percolation on a given graph G and its geometry. Our main result shows that, if G has polynomial growth and satisfies what we call the local isoperimetric inequality of dimension d > 1, then p_c(G) < 1. This gives a partial answer to a question of Benjamini and Schramm. As a consequence of this result we derive, under the additional condition of bounded degree, that these graphs also undergo a non-trivial phase transition for the Ising-Model, the Widom-Rowlinson model and the beach model. Our techniques are also applied to dependent percolation processes with long range correlations. We provide results on the uniqueness of the infinite percolation cluster and quantitative estimates on the size of finite components. Finally we leave some remarks and questions that arise naturally from this work.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure

On the size of a finite vacant cluster of random interlacements with small intensity

In this paper we establish some properties of percolation for the vacant set of random interlacements, for d at least 5 and small intensity u. The model of random interlacements was first introduced by A.S. Sznitman in arXiv:0704.2560. It is known that, for small u, almost surely there is a unique infinite connected component in the vacant set left by the random interlacements at level u, see arXiv:0808.3344 and arXiv:0805.4106. We estimate here the distribution of the diameter and the volume of the vacant component at level u containing the origin, given that it is finite. This comes as a by-product of our main theorem, which proves a stretched exponential bound on the probability that the interlacement set separates two macroscopic connected sets in a large cube. As another application, we show that with high probability, the unique infinite connected component of the vacant set is `ubiquitous' in large neighborhoods of the origin.Comment: Accepted for publication in Probability Theory and Related Field

Interlacement percolation on transient weighted graphs

In this article, we first extend the construction of random interlacements, introduced by A.S. Sznitman in [arXiv:0704.2560], to the more general setting of transient weighted graphs. We prove the Harris-FKG inequality for this model and analyze some of its properties on specific classes of graphs. For the case of non-amenable graphs, we prove that the critical value u_* for the percolation of the vacant set is finite. We also prove that, once G satisfies the isoperimetric inequality IS_6 (see (1.5)), u_* is positive for the product GxZ (where we endow Z with unit weights). When the graph under consideration is a tree, we are able to characterize the vacant cluster containing some fixed point in terms of a Bernoulli independent percolation process. For the specific case of regular trees, we obtain an explicit formula for the critical value u_*.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the Elect. Journal of Pro

On the uniqueness of the infinite cluster of the vacant set of random interlacements

We consider the model of random interlacements on $\mathbb{Z}^d$ introduced in Sznitman [Vacant set of random interlacements and percolation (2007) preprint]. For this model, we prove the uniqueness of the infinite component of the vacant set. As a consequence, we derive the continuity in $u$ of the probability that the origin belongs to the infinite component of the vacant set at level $u$ in the supercritical phase $u<u_*$.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-AAP547 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Percolation and isoperimetry on roughly transitive graphs

In this paper we study percolation on a roughly transitive graph G with polynomial growth and isoperimetric dimension larger than one. For these graphs we are able to prove that p_c < 1, or in other words, that there exists a percolation phase. The main results of the article work for both dependent and independent percolation processes, since they are based on a quite robust renormalization technique. When G is transitive, the fact that p_c < 1 was already known before. But even in that case our proof yields some new results and it is entirely probabilistic, not involving the use of Gromov's theorem on groups of polynomial growth. We finish the paper giving some examples of dependent percolation for which our results apply.Comment: 32 pages, 2 figure

Random interlacements and amenability

We consider the model of random interlacements on transient graphs, which was first introduced by Sznitman [Ann. of Math. (2) (2010) 171 2039-2087] for the special case of ${\mathbb{Z}}^d$ (with $d\geq3$). In Sznitman [Ann. of Math. (2) (2010) 171 2039-2087], it was shown that on ${\mathbb{Z}}^d$: for any intensity $u>0$, the interlacement set is almost surely connected. The main result of this paper says that for transient, transitive graphs, the above property holds if and only if the graph is amenable. In particular, we show that in nonamenable transitive graphs, for small values of the intensity u the interlacement set has infinitely many infinite clusters. We also provide examples of nonamenable transitive graphs, for which the interlacement set becomes connected for large values of u. Finally, we establish the monotonicity of the transition between the "disconnected" and the "connected" phases, providing the uniqueness of the critical value $u_c$ where this transition occurs.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AAP860 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Soft local times and decoupling of random interlacements

In this paper we establish a decoupling feature of the random interlacement process I^u in Z^d, at level u, for d \geq 3. Roughly speaking, we show that observations of I^u restricted to two disjoint subsets A_1 and A_2 of Z^d are approximately independent, once we add a sprinkling to the process I^u by slightly increasing the parameter u. Our results differ from previous ones in that we allow the mutual distance between the sets A_1 and A_2 to be much smaller than their diameters. We then provide an important application of this decoupling for which such flexibility is crucial. More precisely, we prove that, above a certain critical threshold u**, the probability of having long paths that avoid I^u is exponentially small, with logarithmic corrections for d=3. To obtain the above decoupling, we first develop a general method for comparing the trace left by two Markov chains on the same state space. This method is based in what we call the soft local time of a chain. In another crucial step towards our main result, we also prove that any discrete set can be "smoothened" into a slightly enlarged discrete set, for which its equilibrium measure behaves in a regular way. Both these auxiliary results are interesting in themselves and are presented independently from the rest of the paper.Comment: 10 figure