From Cannings model to Brownian motion conditioned on local time profile

Abstract: We study the scaling limits of genealogical trees arising from Cannings models. Under suitable moment conditions, we show that the rescaled contour and height functions converge to a time change of Brownian motion conditioned on a given local time profile. This conditioned Brownian motion is a self-interacting diffusion constructed independently by Warren--Yor (1998) and Aldous (1998). A key ingredient in our proof is a sequential version of the coming-down-from-infinity property.