English

Branching processes and bacterial growth

Probability 2024-09-06 v1

Abstract

We model the growth of a cell population using a piecewise deterministic Markov branching tree. In this model, each cell splits into two offspring at a division rate B(x)B(x), which depends on its size xx. The size of each cell increases exponentially over time, with a growth rate that varies for each individual. Expanding upon the model studied in \cite{hof}, we introduce a scenario with two types of bacteria: those with a young pole and those with an old pole. Additionally, we account for the possibility that a bacterium may not always divide into exactly two offspring. We will demonstrate that our branching process is well-defined and that it satisfies a many-to-one formula. Furthermore, we establish that the mean empirical measure of the model adheres to a growth-fragmentation equation when structured by size, growth rate, and type as state variables.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2409.03317,
  title  = {Branching processes and bacterial growth},
  author = {Nathalie Krell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.03317},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1210.3240

R2 v1 2026-06-28T18:34:59.428Z