Square permutations are typically rectangular

Abstract

We describe the limit (for two topologies) of large uniform random square permutations, that is, permutations where every point is a record. The starting point for all our results is a sampling procedure for asymptotically uniform square permutations. Building on that, we first describe the global behavior by showing that these permutations have a permuton limit which can be described by a random rectangle. We also explore fluctuations about this random rectangle, which we can describe through coupled Brownian motions. Second, we consider the limiting behavior of the neighborhood of a point in the permutation through local limits. As a byproduct, we also determine the random limits of the proportion of occurrences (and consecutive occurrences) of any given pattern in a uniform random square permutation.