A derivative formula for the free energy function

We consider bond percolation on the ${\bf Z}^d$ lattice. Let $M_n$ be the number of open clusters in $B(n)=[-n, n]^d$. It is well known that $E_pM_n / (2n+1)^d$ converges to the free energy function $\kappa(p)$ at the zero field. In this paper, we show that $\sigma^2_p(M_n)/(2n+1)^d$ converges to $-(p^2(1-p)+p(1-p)^2)\kappa'(p)$.Comment: 8 pages 1 figur

On a property of random-oriented percolation in a quadrant

Grimmett's random-orientation percolation is formulated as follows. The square lattice is used to generate an oriented graph such that each edge is oriented rightwards (resp. upwards) with probability $p$ and leftwards (resp. downwards) otherwise. We consider a variation of Grimmett's model proposed by Hegarty, in which edges are oriented away from the origin with probability $p$, and towards it with probability $1-p$, which implies rotational instead of translational symmetry. We show that both models could be considered as special cases of random-oriented percolation in the NE-quadrant, provided that the critical value for the latter is 1/2. As a corollary, we unconditionally obtain a non-trivial lower bound for the critical value of Hegarty's random-orientation model. The second part of the paper is devoted to higher dimensions and we show that the Grimmett model percolates in any slab of height at least 3 in $\mathbb{Z}^3$.Comment: The abstract has been updated, discussion has been added to the end of the articl

Negative association in uniform forests and connected graphs

We consider three probability measures on subsets of edges of a given finite graph $G$, namely those which govern, respectively, a uniform forest, a uniform spanning tree, and a uniform connected subgraph. A conjecture concerning the negative association of two edges is reviewed for a uniform forest, and a related conjecture is posed for a uniform connected subgraph. The former conjecture is verified numerically for all graphs $G$ having eight or fewer vertices, or having nine vertices and no more than eighteen edges, using a certain computer algorithm which is summarised in this paper. Negative association is known already to be valid for a uniform spanning tree. The three cases of uniform forest, uniform spanning tree, and uniform connected subgraph are special cases of a more general conjecture arising from the random-cluster model of statistical mechanics.Comment: With minor correction

Percolation, renormalization, and quantum computing with non-deterministic gates

We apply a notion of static renormalization to the preparation of entangled states for quantum computing, exploiting ideas from percolation theory. Such a strategy yields a novel way to cope with the randomness of non-deterministic quantum gates. This is most relevant in the context of optical architectures, where probabilistic gates are common, and cold atoms in optical lattices, where hole defects occur. We demonstrate how to efficiently construct cluster states without the need for rerouting, thereby avoiding a massive amount of conditional dynamics; we furthermore show that except for a single layer of gates during the preparation, all subsequent operations can be shifted to the final adapted single qubit measurements. Remarkably, cluster state preparation is achieved using essentially the same scaling in resources as if deterministic gates were available.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, discussion of strategies to deal with further imperfections extended, references update

Upper transition point for percolation on the enhanced binary tree: A sharpened lower bound

Hyperbolic structures are obtained by tiling a hyperbolic surface with negative Gaussian curvature. These structures generally exhibit two percolation transitions: a system-wide connection can be established at a certain occupation probability $p=p_{c1}$ and there emerges a unique giant cluster at $p_{c2} > p_{c1}$. There have been debates about locating the upper transition point of a prototypical hyperbolic structure called the enhanced binary tree (EBT), which is constructed by adding loops to a binary tree. This work presents its lower bound as $p_{c2} \gtrsim 0.55$ by using phenomenological renormalization-group methods and discusses some solvable models related to the EBT.Comment: 12 pages, 20 figure

Exact Results for Average Cluster Numbers in Bond Percolation on Lattice Strips

We present exact calculations of the average number of connected clusters per site, , as a function of bond occupation probability $p$, for the bond percolation problem on infinite-length strips of finite width $L_y$, of the square, triangular, honeycomb, and kagom\'e lattices $\Lambda$ with various boundary conditions. These are used to study the approach of , for a given $p$ and $\Lambda$, to its value on the two-dimensional lattice as the strip width increases. We investigate the singularities of in the complex $p$ plane and their influence on the radii of convergence of the Taylor series expansions of about $p=0$ and $p=1$.Comment: 16 pages, revtex, 7 eps figure

Robust nonparametric detection of objects in noisy images

We propose a novel statistical hypothesis testing method for detection of objects in noisy images. The method uses results from percolation theory and random graph theory. We present an algorithm that allows to detect objects of unknown shapes in the presence of nonparametric noise of unknown level and of unknown distribution. No boundary shape constraints are imposed on the object, only a weak bulk condition for the object's interior is required. The algorithm has linear complexity and exponential accuracy and is appropriate for real-time systems. In this paper, we develop further the mathematical formalism of our method and explore important connections to the mathematical theory of percolation and statistical physics. We prove results on consistency and algorithmic complexity of our testing procedure. In addition, we address not only an asymptotic behavior of the method, but also a finite sample performance of our test.Comment: This paper initially appeared in 2010 as EURANDOM Report 2010-049. Link to the abstract at EURANDOM repository: http://www.eurandom.tue.nl/reports/2010/049-abstract.pdf Link to the paper at EURANDOM repository: http://www.eurandom.tue.nl/reports/2010/049-report.pd

Dynamical Exchanges in Facilitated Models of Supercooled liquids

We investigate statistics of dynamical exchange events in coarse--grained models of supercooled liquids in spatial dimensions $d=1$, 2, and 3. The models, based upon the concept of dynamical facilitation, capture generic features of statistics of exchange times and persistence times. Here, distributions for both times are related, and calculated for cases of strong and fragile glass formers over a range of temperatures. Exchange time distributions are shown to be particularly sensitive to the model parameters and dimensions, and exhibit more structured and richer behavior than persistence time distributions. Mean exchange times are shown to be Arrhenius, regardless of models and spatial dimensions. Specifically, $\sim c^{-2}$, with $c$ being the excitation concentration. Different dynamical exchange processes are identified and characterized from the underlying trajectories. We discuss experimental possibilities to test some of our theoretical findings.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, minor corrections made, paper published in Journal of Chemical Physic