An exact solution of three interacting friendly walks in the bulk

Abstract

We find the exact solution of three interacting friendly directed walks on the square lattice in the bulk, modelling a system of homopolymers that can undergo gelation by introducing two distinct interaction parameters that differentiate between the zipping of only two or all three walks. We establish functional equations for the model's corresponding generating function that are subsequently solved exactly by means of the \emph{obstinate kernel method}. We then proceed to analyse our model, first considering the case where triple-walk interaction effects are ignored, finding that our model exhibits two phases which we classify as free and gelated regions, with the system exhibiting a second-order phase transition. We then analyse the full model where both interaction parameters are incorporated, presenting the full phase diagram and highlighting the additional existence of a first-order gelation boundary.