Connection Probabilities and RSW-Type Bounds for the Two-Dimensional FK Ising Model

We prove Russo-Seymour-Welsh-type uniform bounds on crossing probabilities for the FK Ising (FK percolation with cluster weight q = 2) model at criticality, independent of the boundary conditions. Our proof relies mainly on Smirnov's fermionic observable for the FK Ising model [24], which allows us to get precise estimates on boundary connection probabilities. We stay in a discrete setting; in particular, we do not make use of any continuum limit, and our result can be used to derive directly several noteworthy properties-including some new ones-among which are the fact that there is no infinite cluster at criticality, tightness properties for the interfaces, and the existence of several critical exponents, in particular the half-plane, one-arm exponent. Such crossing bounds are also instrumental for important applications such as constructing the scaling limit of the Ising spin field [6] and deriving polynomial bounds for the mixing time of the Glauber dynamics at criticality [17]. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.