Random permutations of a regular lattice (Q2511548)

Spatial random permutations (SRP) are a simple yet intriguing probabilistic model and were originally studied due to their connections to Bose-Einstein condensation. The authors treat SRP with independent jump penalization and are mainly interested in properties of the infinite volume limit. A first question to ask is whether such an infinite volume limit exists. For a regular lattice with periodic boundary conditions, they give an affirmative answer under fairly weak conditions on the jump energy. The most interesting properties of SRP are properties of their cycles and whether there is a phase transition. The authors give numerical evidence of a Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition for SRP of a planar lattice. They also discuss, on a heuristic level, similarities and differences between SRP and the XY-model. A natural step beyond studying the length distribution of SRP cycles is to investigate their geometry in the scaling limit. The authors condition on the event that the origin is in a cycle whose length diverges in the infinite volume limit and find strong numerical evidence that in the scaling limit, long cycles have an almost sure fractal dimension whose dependence on the temperature changes from linear to power law. Lastly, they give two arguments in favor of and one possible objection to the connection between the scaling limit of long SRP cycles in two dimensions and the Schramm-Löwner curves.