# Tunneling of the hard-core model on finite triangular lattices

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes the tunneling times and mixing behavior of the hard-core model on finite triangular lattices under high-fugacity conditions, revealing how lattice dimensions influence transition times between maximum-occupancy states.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of tunneling times and mixing times for the hard-core model on finite triangular lattices, using geometrical and combinatorial methods in the low-temperature regime.

## Key findings

- Expected tunneling times depend on lattice dimensions.
- Tunneling times exhibit asymptotic exponentiality.
- The analysis leverages symmetry and zero-temperature limits.

## Abstract

We consider the hard-core model on finite triangular lattices with Metropolis dynamics. Under suitable conditions on the triangular lattice dimensions, this interacting particle system has three maximum-occupancy configurations and we investigate its high-fugacity behavior by studying tunneling times, i.e., the first hitting times between between these maximum-occupancy configurations, and the mixing time. The proof method relies on the analysis of the corresponding state space using geometrical and combinatorial properties of the hard-core configurations on finite triangular lattices, in combination with known results for first hitting times of Metropolis Markov chains in the equivalent zero-temperature limit. In particular, we show how the order of magnitude of the expected tunneling times depends on the triangular lattice dimensions in the low-temperature regime and prove the asymptotic exponentiality of the rescaled tunneling time leveraging the intrinsic symmetry of the state space.