Branching processes

of interest because of the observation that certain names became extinct

Galton-watson branching process

"On the probability of the extinction of families"

Discrete time branching process, referred to as the Galton-watson model

Applicable to

Human families Genetics Electron multipliers Nuclear chain reactions Chemical Chain reactions spread of diseases

calculating if a mutation will eventually die out

simple model assumes fixed generation time

= Galton-watson model =


 * 1) p is constant
 * 2) all individuals reproduce indpendently
 * 3) generation zero is size 1