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Absence of mass gap for a class of stochastic contour models

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Abstract

We study a class of Markovian stochastic processes in which the state space is a space of lattice contours and the elementary motions are local deformations. We show, under suitable hypotheses on the jump rates, that the infinitesimal generator has zero mass gap. This result covers (among others) the BFACF dynamics for fixed-endpoint self-avoiding walks and the Sterling-Greensite dynamics for fixed-boundary self-avoiding surfaces. Our models also mimic the Glauber dynamics for the low-temperature Ising model. The proofs are based on two new general principles: the minimum hitting-time argument and the mean (or mean-exponential) hitting-time argument.

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Author notes

  1. Lawrence E. Thomas

    Present address: Department of Mathematics, University of Virginia, 22903, Charlottesville, Virginia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, New York University, 10003, New York, New York

    Alan D. Sokal

  2. Department of Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, Pennsylvania

    Lawrence E. Thomas

Authors
  1. Alan D. Sokal
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  2. Lawrence E. Thomas
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Sokal, A.D., Thomas, L.E. Absence of mass gap for a class of stochastic contour models. J Stat Phys 51, 907–947 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014892

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