The large-cell Monte Carlo renormalization group introduced by Reynolds, Stanley, and Klein [Phys. Rev. B 20, 1223 (1980)] is applied with a new weight function to random percolation in two and three dimensions. Our renormalization-group results show different behavior with lattice size than that observed previously. Specifically, we find that ${Y}_{p}=0.73\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.01$ (the correlation length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}=1.37$) in two dimensions and ${Y}_{p}=1.124\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.004$ ($\ensuremath{\nu}=0.89$) in three dimensions. This weight function allows for easy analysis of percolation in higher dimensions.
We obtain the critical parameters for the site-percolation problem on the square lattice to a high degree of accuracy (comparable to that of series expansions) by using a Monte Carlo position-space renormalization-group procedure directly on the site-occupation probability. Our method involves calculating recursion relations using progressively larger lattice rescalings,
b. We find smooth sequences for the value of the critical percolation concentration
pc(b) and for the scaling powers
yp(b) and
yh(b). Extrapolating these sequences to the limit $b\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ leads to quite accurate numerical predictions. Further, by considering other weight functions or "rules" which also embody the essential connectivity feature of percolation, we find that the numerical results in the infinite-cell limit are in fact "rule independent." However, the actual fashion in which this limit is approached does depend upon the rule chosen. A connection between extrapolation of our renormalization-group results and finite-size scaling is made. Furthermore, the usual finite-size scaling arguments lead to independent estimates of
pc and
yp. Combining both the large-cell approach and the finite-size scaling results, we obtain ${y}_{p}=0.7385\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0080$ and ${y}_{h}=1.898\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.003$. Thus we find ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{p}=\ensuremath{-}0.708\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.030$, ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{p}=0.138(+0.006,\ensuremath{-}0.005)$, ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{p}=2.432\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.035$, ${\ensuremath{\delta}}_{p}=18.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.6$, ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{p}=1.354\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.015$, and $2\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{p}=1.796\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006$. The site-percolation threshold is found for the square lattice at ${p}_{c}=0.5931\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0006$. We note that our calculated value of ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{p}$ is in considerably better agreement with the proposal of Klein et al. that ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{p}=\frac{\mathrm{ln}\sqrt{3}}{\mathrm{ln}(\frac{3}{2})}\ensuremath{\cong}1.3548$, than with den Nijs' recent conjecture, which predicts ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{p}=\frac{4}{3}$. However, our results cannot entirely rule out the latter possibility.
Using a histogram Monte Carlo simulation method (HMCSM), Hu, Lin, and Chen found that bond and site percolation models on planar lattices have universal finite-size scaling functions for the existence probability
Ep, the percolation probability
P, and the probability
Wn for the appearance of
n percolating clusters in these models. In this paper we extend above study to percolation on three-dimensional lattices with various linear dimensions
L. Using the HMCSM, we calculate the existence probability
Ep and the percolation probability
P for site and bond percolation on a simple-cubic (sc) lattice, and site percolation on body-centered-cubic and face-centered-cubic lattices; each lattice has the same linear dimension in three dimensions. Using the data of
Ep and
P in a percolation renormalization group method, we find that the critical exponents obtained are quite consistent with the universality of critical exponents. Using a small number of nonuniversal metric factors, we find that
Ep and
P have universal finite-size scaling functions. This implies that the critical
Ep is a universal quantity, which is $0.265\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005$ for free boundary conditions and $0.924\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.005$ for periodic boundary conditions. We also find that
Wn for site and bond percolation on sc lattices have universal finite-size scaling functions.