The trunks of CLE(4) explorations

TL;DR

This paper establishes a precise relationship between exploration parameters in conformal loop ensembles, linking the trunk of CLE4 explorations to SLE processes and Gaussian free field level lines, advancing understanding of conformal invariance.

Contribution

It proves the explicit relation between the exploration parameter  and the SLE parameter , connecting CLE4 explorations to CLE explorations via approximation methods.

Findings

Derived the relation  =  ( ho/2) between exploration parameters.

Connected CLE4 exploration trunks to SLE4(,) processes.

Used approximation of CLE4 by CLE for 4 to leverage existing results.

Abstract

A natural class of conformally invariant ways for discovering the loops of a conformal loop ensemble $\text{CLE}_4$ is given by a certain family of $\text{SLE}_4^{\langle\mu\rangle}(-2)$ exploration processes for real $\mu$. Such an exploration consists of one simple continuous path called the trunk of the exploration that discovers $\text{CLE}_4$ loops along the way. The parameter $\mu$ appears in the Loewner chain description of the path that traces the trunk and all CLE loops encountered by the trunk in chronological order. These explorations can also be interpreted in terms of level lines of a Gaussian free field. It has been shown by Miller, Sheffield and Werner that the trunk of such an exploration is an $\text{SLE}_4(\rho,-2-\rho)$ process for some (unknown) value of $\rho \in (-2, 0)$. The main result of the present paper is to establish the relation between $\mu$ and $\rho$, more specifically to show that $\mu = -\pi\cot(\pi\rho/2)$. The crux of the paper is to show how explorations of $\text{CLE}_4$ can be approximated by explorations of $\text{CLE}_\kappa$ for $\kappa \uparrow 4$, which then makes it possible to use recent results by Miller, Sheffield and Werner about the trunks of $\text{CLE}_\kappa$ explorations for $\kappa < 4$.