We consider two-dimensional critical bond percolation. Conditioned on the existence of an open circuit in an annulus, we show that the ratio of the expected size of the shortest open circuit to the expected size of the innermost circuit tends to zero as the side length of the annulus tends to infinity, the aspect ratio remaining fixed. The same proof yields a similar result for the lowest open crossing of a rectangle. In this last case, we answer a question of Kesten and Zhang by showing in addition that the ratio of the length of the shortest crossing to the length of the lowest tends to zero in probability. This suggests that the chemical distance in critical percolation is given by an exponent strictly smaller than that of the lowest path.

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We relate commutative algebras in braided tensor categories to braid-reversed tensor equivalences, motivated by vertex algebra representation theory. First, for C a braided tensor category, we give a detailed construction of the canonical algebra in C⊠C^rev: if C is semisimple but not necessarily finite or rigid, then ⨁X∈Irr(C) X′⊠X is a commutative algebra, with X′ a representing object for Hom_C(∙⊗_C X,1_C). Conversely, let A=⨁i∈I U_i ⊠ V_i be a simple commutative algebra in U⊠V with U semisimple and rigid but not necessarily finite, and V rigid but not necessarily semisimple. If the unit objects of U and V form a commuting pair in A, we show there is a braid-reversed equivalence between subcategories of U and V sending U_i to (V_i)*. When U and V are module categories for simple vertex operator algebras U and V, we glue U and V along U⊠V via a map τ: Irr(U)→Obj(V) such that τ(U)=V to create A=⨁X∈Irr(U) X′⊗τ(X). Thus under certain conditions, τ extends to a braid-reversed equivalence between U and V if and only if A is a simple conformal vertex algebra extending U⊗V. As examples, we glue Kazhdan-Lusztig categories at generic levels to obtain new vertex algebras extending the tensor product of two affine vertex algebras, and we prove braid-reversed equivalences between certain module categories for affine vertex algebras and W-algebras at admissible levels.

Let$D$⊂$C$be a simply connected domain that contains 0 and does not contain any disk of radius larger than 1. For$R$>0, let$ω$_{$D$}($R$) denote the harmonic measure at 0 of the set {$z$:|$z$|≽$R$}⋔∂$D$. Then it is shown that$there exist$β>0$and C$>0$such that for each such D$,$ω$_{$D$}($R$)≤$Ce$^{−$βR$},$for every R$>0. Thus a natural question is: What is the supremum of all β′s , call it β_{0}, for which the above inequality holds for every such$D$? Another formulation of the problem involves hyperbolic metric instead of harmonic measure. Using this formulation a lower bound for β_{0}is found. Upper bounds for β_{0}can be obtained by constructing examples of domains$D$. It is shown that a certain domain whose boundary consists of an infinite number of vertical half-lines, i.e. a comb domain, gives a good upper bound. This bound disproves a conjecture of C. Bishop which asserted that the strips of width 2 are extremal domains. Harmonic measures on comb domains are also studied.

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