English

On the expected time a branching process has K individuals alive

Probability 2013-05-01 v1

Abstract

Consider a homogeneous time-continuous branching process where individuals have constant birth rate δ\delta, and life length distribution QQ having mean E(Q)=1E(Q)=1. Let X(u)X(u) denote the number of individuals alive at time uu, and assume that X(0)=1X(0)=1. Let KK be a positive integer and define AK:=01{X(u)=K}duA_K:=\int_0^\infty 1_{\{X(u)=K\}}du, the accumulated time that the branching process has exactly KK individuals alive. In this paper we prove that E(AK)=δK1/(k(1δ)K)E(A_K)=\delta^{K-1}/\left(k(1\vee\delta)^K\right), irrespective of the life length distribution QQ, subject to the normalizing condition E(Q)=1E(Q)=1.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1304.8014,
  title  = {On the expected time a branching process has K individuals alive},
  author = {Tom Britton and Peter Neal},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1304.8014},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

14 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-22T00:08:54.065Z