Combinatorial formulation of Ising model revisited

Abstract

In 1952, Kac and Ward developed a combinatorial formulation for the two dimensional Ising model which is another method of obtaining Onsager's famous formula for the free energy per site in the termodynamic limit of the model. Feynman gave an important contribution to this formulation conjecturing a crucial mathematical relation which completed Kac and Ward ideas. In this paper, the method of Kac, Ward and Feynman for the free field Ising model in two dimensions is reviewed in a selfcontained way and Onsager's formula computed.