Pattern avoidance in permutations and their squares

Abstract

We study permutations $p$ such that both $p$ and $p^2$ avoid a given pattern $q$. We obtain a generating function for the case of $q=312$ (equivalently, $q=231$), we prove that if $q$ is monotone increasing, then above a certain length, there are no such permutations, and we prove an upper bound for $q=321$. We also present some intriguing questions in the case of $q=132$.