A Critical Branching Process with Stationary-Limiting Distribution

Abstract

Seneta (Seneta, E. The stationary distribution of a branching process allowing immigration: A remark on the critical case. J. Royal Statistical Society, Series B 1968, 30, 176–179) shows that a critical branching process with pure immigration has a stationary-limiting distribution provided that its offspring variance is infinite. We obtain a stationary-limiting distribution keeping the variance finite but allowing an emigration–immigration component in each generation.     

Statistical inference of 2-type critical Galton–Watson processes with immigration

In this paper the asymptotic behavior of the conditional least squares estimators of the offspring mean matrix for a 2-type critical positively regular Galton–Watson branching process with immigration is described. We also study this question for a natural estimator of the spectral radius of the offspring mean matrix, which we call criticality parameter. We discuss the subcritical case as well.     

Estimation of the offspring mean in a controlled branching process with a random control function

Controlled branching processes (CBP) with a random control function provide a useful way to model generation sizes in population dynamics studies, where control on the growth of the population size is necessary at each generation. An important special case of this process is the well known branching process with immigration. Motivated by the work of Wei and Winnicki [C.Z. Wei, J. Winnicki, Estimation of the mean in the branching process with immigration, Ann. Statist. 18 (1990) 1757–1773], we develop a weighted conditional least squares estimator of the offspring mean of the CBP and derive the asymptotic limit distribution of the estimator when the process is subcritical, critical and supercritical. Moreover, we show the strong consistency of this estimator in all the cases. The results obtained here extend those of Wei and Winnicki [C.Z. Wei, J. Winnicki, Estimation of the mean in the branching process with immigration, Ann. Statist. 18 (1990) 1757–1773] for branching processes with immigration and provide a unified limit theory of estimation.     

Sesqui-type branching processes

We consider branching processes consisting of particles (individuals) of two types (type $L$ and type $S$) in which only particles of type $L$ have offspring, proving estimates for the survival probability and the (tail of) the distribution of the total number of particles. Such processes are in some sense closer to single- than to multi-type branching processes. Nonetheless, the second, barren, type complicates the analysis significantly. The results proved here (about point and survival probabilities) are a key ingredient in the analysis of bounded-size Achlioptas processes in a recent paper by the last two authors.     

Almost sure,L_1-and L_2-growth behavior of supercritical multi-type continuous state and continuous time branching processes with immigration

Under a first order moment condition on the immigration mechanism, we show that an appropriately scaled supercritical and irreducible multi-type continuous state and continuous time branching process with immigration(CBI process) converges almost surely. If an x log(x) moment condition on the branching mechanism does not hold, then the limit is zero. If this x log(x) moment condition holds, then we prove L_1 convergence as well. The projection of the limit on any left non-Perron eigenvector of the branching mean matrix is vanishing.If, in addition, a suitable extra power moment condition on the branching mechanism holds, then we provide the correct scaling for the projection of a CBI process on certain left non-Perron eigenvectors of the branching mean matrix in order to have almost sure and L_1 limit. Moreover, under a second order moment condition on the branching and immigration mechanisms, we prove L_2 convergence of an appropriately scaled process and the above-mentioned projections as well. A representation of the limits is also provided under the same moment conditions.     

Extinction properties of multi-type continuous-state branching processes

Recently in Barczy et al. (2015), the notion of a multi-type continuous-state branching process (with immigration) having $d$-types was introduced as a solution to an $d$-dimensional vector-valued SDE. Preceding that, work on affine processes, originally motivated by mathematical finance, in Duffie et al. (2003) also showed the existence of such processes. See also more recent contributions in this direction due to Gabrielli and Teichmann (2014) and Caballero and Pérez Garmendia (2017). Older work on multi-type continuous-state branching processes is more sparse but includes Watanabe (1969) and Ma (2013), where only two types are considered. In this paper we take a completely different approach and consider multi-type continuous-state branching process, now allowing for up to a countable infinity of types, defined instead as a super Markov chain with both local and non-local branching mechanisms. In the spirit of Engländer and Kypriano (2004) we explore their extinction properties and pose a number of open problems.     

Analysis of a Recurrence Related to Critical Nonhomogeneous Branching Processes

Abstract

Some classes of controlled branching processes (with nonhomo-geneous migration or with nonhomo-geneous state-dependent immigration) lead in the critical case to a recurrence for the extinction probabilities. Under some additional conditions it is known that this recurrence depends on some parameter β and converges for 0 < β < 1. Now we show that the recurrence does converge for all positive values of the parameter β, which leads to an extension of some limit theorems for the corresponding branching processes. We also give a generalization of the recurrence and an asymptotic analysis of its behavior.     

随机环境中多物种分枝游动质点密度矩阵的极限分布

本文研究了随机环境中的多物种分枝游动于时刻k,位置x的质点密度矩阵序列{M~(k)(x)}k>1的极限分布。我们在证明了M~(k)(x),k>1,x∈Z是k个独立同分布的矩阵值随机元的乘积的基础上,主要证明了随机序列{logM_(ij)~(k)(x)}k>1依某种意义规范后是渐近正态的。     

Estimation of the variances in the branching process with immigration

Summary Estimation theory for the variances of the offspring and immigration distributions in a simple branching process with immigration is developed, analogous to the estimation theory for the means given by Wei and Winnicki (1990). Conditional and weighted conditional least squares estimators are considered and their asymptotic properties for the full range of parameters are studied. Nonexistence of consistent estimators in the critical case is established, which complements analogous result of Wei and Winnicki for the supercritical case.Research supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant NSF-DMS-8801496     

Estimation of the mean in partially observed branching processes with general immigration

In the paper we investigate asymptotic properties of the branching process with non-stationary immigration which are sufficient for a natural estimator of the offspring mean based on partial observations to be strongly consistent and asymptotically normal. The estimator uses only a binomially distributed subset of the population of each generation. This approach allows us to obtain results without conditions on the criticality of the process which makes possible to develop a unified estimation procedure without knowledge of the range of the offspring mean. These results are to be contrasted with the existing literature related to i.i.d. immigration case where the asymptotic normality depends on the criticality of the process and are new for the fully observed processes as well. Examples of applications in the process with immigration with regularly varying mean and variance and subcritical processes with i.i.d. immigration are also considered.

     

带移民的上临界分支过程在一般条件下的小值概率

本文的主要目的是在后代分布均值有限但L log L阶距无限的条件下研究带移民的上临界分支过程(Z_n)的小值概率.当后代分布均值有限且移民分布的log L阶距有限时,存在常数序列{C_n,n≥0}使得C_n~(-1)Z_n收敛到一个非负有限且非退化的随机变量,记作W.本文基于前期关于分支过程小值概率的工作,在最一般的条件下得到了W的小值概率,即P(W≤ε)在ε→0~+时的收敛速率.     

带形上随机环境中随机游动的内蕴分枝结构

揭示了带形上随机环境中随机游动的内蕴分枝结构一带移民的多物种分枝过程.利用内蕴分枝结构,可精确表达游动的首次击中时.给出了内蕴分枝结构的如下两个应用:(1)计算出首次击中时的均值,给出游动大数定律速度的显示表达,(2)得到从粒子角度看环境的马氏链不变测度的密度函数的显示表达,进而可用另一种"站在粒子看环境"的方法直接证明游动的大数定律.     

Multiclass batch arrival retrial queues analyzed as branching processes with immigration

TheM/G/1 batch arrival retrial queue is studied by means of branching processes with immigration. We shall investigate this queue when traffic intensity is less than one, tends to one or is greater than one.     

THE ASYMPTOTIC PROPERTIES OF SUPERCRITICAL BISEXUAL GALTON-WATSON BRANCHING PROCESSES WITH IMMIGRATION OF MATING UNITS

In this article the supercritical bisexual Galton-Watson branching processes with the immigration of mating units is considered. A necessary condition for the almost sure convergence, and a sufficient condition for the L1 convergence are given for the process with the suitably normed condition.     

On the convergence rate in one limit theorem for branching processes with immigration

We obtain the convergence rate for the distribution of the fluctuation of almost critical branching processes with immigration to the normal law.     

Limit distributions for generalized Jiřina processes with immigration

A relationship between continuous state population-size-dependent branching (CSDB) processes with or without immigration and discrete state population-size-dependent branching (DSDB) processes with or without immigration is established via the representation of the former. Based on this relationship, some limiting distributions of CSDB processes with or without immigration are obtained.     

Properties of Two-Dimensional Maxima of Particle Scores in Critical Branching Processes with Immigration and Continuous Time

Mathematical Notes - We study two-dimensional maxima of particle scores in critical branching processes with immigration and continuous time. The limit distribution for the maxima of two scores at...     

Bayesian non-parametric estimation for age-dependent branching processes

The purpose of this paper is to obtain Bayes estimators for both the offspring and life-length distribution in the context of a Bellman-Harris age-dependent branching process. We take a non-parametric approach by letting the prior random distributions, for the offspring and life-length distributions, be independent Dirichlet processes. Our primary results concern the derivation of Bayes estimators, under weighted squared error loss for each distribution. We also indicate some of their asymptotic properties and briefly discuss the modifications that become necessary when the initial information is such that the prior random distribution cannot be taken to be independent.     

Ratio limit theorems for branching Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes

We prove ratio limit theorems for critical ano supercritical branching Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes. A finite first moment of the offspring distribution {p_n} assures convergence in probability for supercritical processes and conditional convergence in probability for critical processes. If even Σp_nnlog⁺log⁺n< ∞, then almost sure convergence obtains in the supercritical case.