2009 Probability Seminar - 02

Statistical mechanics is the branch of physics that seeks to explain the properties of matter that emerge from microscopic scale interactions. Probabilistic models such as percolation help describe various physical phenomena. The models are generally not exactly solvable; simple local interactions produce complex long range behaviour. The technology of influence provides a way to study these processes. We will look at applications of influence to percolation, directed and undirected first passage percolation, the Ising model, and the random-cluster model. Joint work with Geoffrey Grimmett.