Phase transitions in isoperimetric problems on the integers

Abstract

Barber and Erde asked the following question: if $B$ generates $\mathbb Z^d$ as an additive group, then must the extremal sets for the vertex/edge-isoperimetric inequality on the Cayley graph $\operatorname{Cay}(\mathbb Z^d,B)$ form a nested family? We answer this question negatively for both the vertex- and edge-isoperimetric inequalities, specifically in the case of $d=1$. The key is to show that the structure of the cylinder $\mathbb Z\times(\mathbb Z/k\mathbb Z)$ can be mimicked in certain Cayley graphs on $\mathbb Z$, leading to a phase transition. We do, however, show that Barber--Erde's question for Cayley graphs on $\mathbb Z$ has a positive answer if one is allowed to ignore finitely many sets.