Exponential growth or death
Peter Jagers, Chalmers tekniska högskola och Göteborgs universitet, Sweden
Abstract
In a famous passage Thomas Malthus argued that populations (not dying out)
must increase exponentially. We formulate the correct dichotomy, between
unbounded growth and extinction, give conditions for growth to be exponential,
and in particular discuss how linear growth can come about. A martingale
argument explains the mysterious linear phase of molecule number increase in
PCR.