Graphs, Morphisms and Statistical Physics

Inspired by issues and intriguing questions surrounding the interplay of combinatorics and statistical physics, a DIMACS/DIMATIA workshop was held at Rutgers University. This title includes proceedings of that meeting. It is suitable for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in probabilistic graph theory and its applications.

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The intersection of combinatorics and statistical physics has experienced great activity in recent years. This flurry of activity has been fertilized by an exchange not only of techniques, but also of objectives. Computer scientists interested in approximation algorithms have helped statistical physicists and discrete mathematicians overcome language problems. They have found a wealth of common ground in probabilistic combinatorics. Close connections between percolation and random graphs, graph morphisms and hard-constraint models, and slow mixing and phase transition have led to new results and perspectives. These connections can help in understanding typical behavior of combinatorial phenomena such as graph coloring and homomorphisms. Inspired by issues and intriguing new questions surrounding the interplay of combinatorics and statistical physics, a DIMACS/DIMATIA workshop was held at Rutgers University. These proceedings are the outgrowth of that meeting. This volume is intended for graduate students and research mathematicians interested in probabilistic graph theory and its applications.