English

Logical limit laws for Mallows random permutations

Probability 2024-05-28 v3 Combinatorics Logic

Abstract

A random permutation Πn\Pi_n of {1,,n}\{1,\dots,n\} follows the \DeclareMathOperator\MallowsMallows\Mallows(n,q)\DeclareMathOperator{\Mallows}{Mallows}\Mallows(n,q) distribution with parameter q>0q>0 if P(Πn=π)\mathbb{P} ( \Pi_n = \pi ) is proportional to \DeclareMathOperator\invinvq\inv(π)\DeclareMathOperator{\inv}{inv} q^{\inv(\pi)} for all π\pi. Here \DeclareMathOperator\invinv\inv(π):={i<j:π(i)>π(j)}\DeclareMathOperator{\inv}{inv} \inv(\pi) := |\{ i<j : \pi(i)> \pi(j) \}| denotes the number of inversions of π\pi. We consider properties of permutations that can be expressed by the sentences of two different logical languages. Namely, the theory of one bijection (TOOB\mathsf{TOOB}), which describes permutations via a single binary relation, and the theory of two orders (TOTO\mathsf{TOTO}), where we describe permutations by two total orders. We say that the convergence law holds with respect to one of these languages if, for every sentence ϕ\phi in the language, the probability P(Πn satisfies ϕ)\mathbb{P} (\Pi_n\text{ satisfies } \phi) converges to a limit as nn\to\infty. If moreover that limit is in the set {0,1}\{0,1\} for all sentences, then the zero-one law holds. We will show that with respect to TOOB\mathsf{TOOB} the \Mallows(n,q)\Mallows(n,q) distribution satisfies the zero-one law when 0<q<10<q<1 is fixed, and for fixed q>1q>1 the convergence law fails. (In the case when q=1q=1 Compton has shown the convergence law holds but not the zero-one law.) We will prove that with respect to TOTO\mathsf{TOTO} the \Mallows(n,q)\Mallows(n,q) distribution satisfies the convergence law but not the zero-one law for any fixed q1q\neq 1, and that if q=q(n)q=q(n) satisfies 11/logn<q<1+1/logn1 - 1/\log^*n < q < 1 + 1/\log^*n then \Mallows(n,q)\Mallows(n,q) fails the convergence law. Here log\log^* denotes the discrete inverse of the tower function.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2302.10148,
  title  = {Logical limit laws for Mallows random permutations},
  author = {Tobias Muller and Fiona Skerman and Teun W. Verstraaten},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.10148},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

47 pages. Minor changes since the last version

R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:44:48.062Z