On cable-graph percolation between dimensions 2 and 3

TL;DR

This paper studies the critical percolation behavior of Gaussian free fields on two-dimensional slabs of varying thickness, revealing new fixed points and phase behaviors that interpolate between known 2D and 3D results.

Contribution

It introduces a family of fixed points for cable-graph percolation that bridge two- and three-dimensional regimes, expanding understanding of critical phenomena in these models.

Findings

Identification of a continuum of fixed points interpolating between 2D and 3D behaviors

Discovery of a plateau in one-arm decay in the delocalised phase

Analysis of the interplay between 2D and 3D effects in the underlying random walk

Abstract

We consider the Gaussian free field on two-dimensional slabs with a thickness described by a height $h$ at spatial scale $N$. We investigate the radius of critical clusters for the associated cable-graph percolation problem, which depends sensitively on the parameter $h$. Our results unveil a whole family of new "fixed points", which interpolate between recent results from arXiv:2303.03782 in two dimensions and from arXiv:2405.17417 and arXiv:2406.02397 in three dimensions, and describe critical behaviour beyond those regimes. In the delocalised phase, the one-arm decay exhibits a "plateau", i.e. it doesn't depend on the speed at which the variance of the field diverges in the large-$N$ limit. Our methods rely on a careful analysis of the interplay between two- and three-dimensional effects for the underlying random walk, which manifest themselves in a corresponding decomposition of the field.