English

Counting walks by their last erased self-avoiding polygons using sieves

Combinatorics 2021-04-22 v2

Abstract

Let GG be an infinite, vertex-transitive lattice with degree λ\lambda and fix a vertex on it. Consider all cycles of length exactly ll from this vertex to itself on GG. Erasing loops chronologically from these cycles, what is the fraction Fp/λ(p)F_p/\lambda^{\ell(p)} of cycles of length ll whose last erased loop is some chosen self-avoiding polygon pp of length (p)\ell(p), when ll\to\infty ? We use combinatorial sieves to prove an exact formula for Fp/λ(p)F_p/\lambda^{\ell(p)} that we evaluate explicitly. We further prove that for all self-avoiding polygons pp, FpQ[χ]F_p\in\mathbb{Q}[\chi] with χ\chi an irrational number depending on the lattice, e.g. χ=1/π\chi=1/\pi on the infinite square lattice. In stark contrast we current methods, we proceed via purely deterministic arguments relying on Viennot's theory of heaps of pieces seen as a semi-commutative extension of number theory. Our approach also sheds light on the origin of the difference between exponents stemming from loop-erased walk and self-avoiding polygon models, and suggests a natural route to bridge the gap between both.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2001.02084,
  title  = {Counting walks by their last erased self-avoiding polygons using sieves},
  author = {P. -L. Giscard},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2001.02084},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

Updated following referee comments

R2 v1 2026-06-23T13:05:03.006Z