Asymptotic enumeration of independent sets on the Sierpinski gasket

The number of independent sets is equivalent to the partition function of the hard-core lattice gas model with nearest-neighbor exclusion and unit activity. We study the number of independent sets m(d,b)(n) on the generalized Sierpinski gasket SG(d,b)(n) at stage n with dimension d equal to two, three and four for b = 2, and layer b equal to three for d = 2. Upper and lower bounds for the asymptotic growth constant, defined as z(SGd,b) = lim(v ->infinity) ln m(d,b)(n)/v where v is the number of vertices, on these Sierpinski gaskets are derived in terms of the numbers at a certain stage. The numerical values of these z(SGd,b) are evaluated with more than a hundred significant figures accurate. We also conjecture upper and lower bounds for the asymptotic growth constant z(SGd,2) with general d, and an approximation of z(SGd,2) when d is large.