A short proof of the discontinuity of phase transition in the planar random-cluster model with $q>4$

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to provide a short proof of the discontinuity of phase transition for the random-cluster model on the square lattice with parameter $q>4$. This result was recently shown via the so-called Bethe ansatz for the six-vertex model. Our proof also exploits the connection to the six-vertex model, but does not rely on the Bethe ansatz. Our argument is soft and only uses very basic properties of the random-cluster model (for example, we do not need the Russo--Seymour--Welsh theory).