Continuous state branching semigroups

Summary This paper is concerned with Markov processes with continuous creation where the phase space is a general separable compact metric space. The transition probabilities for such a process determine a semigroup of operators acting on a function space over the collection of bounded Borel measures on the phase space. Such a semigroup is characterized by a particular convolution condition and is called a continuous state branching semigroup. A connection is established between continuous state branching semigroups and certain semigroups of nonlinear operators and then this connection is exploited to establish an existence theorem for the former.Research associated with a project in probability at Princeton University supported by the Office of Army Research.