Path Coupling , Dobrushin Uniqueness , and Approximate Counting by R Bubley &

In this paper we illustrate new techniques for bounding the mixing rates of certain Markov chains. Whereas previous techniques have required extensive insight into the combinatorics of the problem in question, we provide a more heuristic method. We apply this to several hard combinatorial problems including graph colouring and Twice-SAT, as well as problems from statistical physics, such as the anti-ferromagnetic Potts model and the hard-core lattice gas model.