Phase transitions in isoperimetric problems on the integers
Combinatorics
2026-01-15 v2
Abstract
Barber and Erde asked the following question: if generates as an additive group, then must the extremal sets for the vertex/edge-isoperimetric inequality on the Cayley graph form a nested family? We answer this question negatively for both the vertex- and edge-isoperimetric inequalities, specifically in the case of . The key is to show that the structure of the cylinder can be mimicked in certain Cayley graphs on , leading to a phase transition. We do, however, show that Barber--Erde's question for Cayley graphs on has a positive answer if one is allowed to ignore finitely many sets.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2402.14087,
title = {Phase transitions in isoperimetric problems on the integers},
author = {Joseph Briggs and Chris Wells},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.14087},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
15 pages, 3 figures