We study the number of collisions $X_n$ of an exchangeable coalescent with multiple collisions ($Λ$-coalescent) which starts with $n$ particles and is driven by rates determined by a finite characteristic measure $ν({\rm d}x)=x^{-2}Λ({\rm d}x)$. Via a coupling technique we derive limiting laws of $X_n$, using previous results on regenerative compositions derived from stick-breaking partitions of the unit interval. The possible limiting laws of $X_n$ include normal, stable with index $1\leα<2$ and Mittag-Leffler distributions. The results apply, in particular, to the case when $ν$ is a beta$(a-2,b)$ distribution with parameters $a>2$ and $b>0$. The approach taken allows to derive asymptotics of three other functionals of the coalescent, the absorption time, the length of an external branch chosen at random from the $n$ external branches, and the number of collision events that occur before the randomly selected external branch coalesces with one of its neighbours.
We study the block counting process and the fixation line of exchangeable coalescents. Formulas for the infinitesimal rates of both processes are provided. It is shown that the block counting process is Siegmund dual to the fixation line. For exchangeable coalescents restricted to a sample of size n and with dust we provide a convergence result for the block counting process as n tends to infinity. The associated limiting process is related to the frequencies of singletons of the coalescent. Via duality we obtain an analog convergence result for the fixation line of exchangeable coalescents wi…
Kingman derived the Ewens sampling formula for random partitions from the genealogy model defined by a Poisson process of mutations along lines of descent governed by a simple coalescent process. Möhle described the recursion which determines the generalization of the Ewens sampling formula when the lines of descent are governed by a coalescent with multiple collisions. In a recent work by Dong, Gnedin and Pitman, authors exploit an analogy with the theory of regenerative composition and partition structures, and provide various characterizations of the associated exchangeable random partition…
Coalescents with multiple collisions (also called Lambda-coalescents or simple exchangeable coalescents) are used as models of genealogies. We study a new class of Markovian coalescent processes connected to a population model with immigration. Imagine an infinite population with immigration labelled at each generation by N:={1,2,...}. Some ancestral lineages cannot be followed backwards after some time because their ancestor is outside the population. The individuals with an immigrant ancestor constitute a distinguished family and we define exchangeable distinguished coalescent processes as a…
Let $K_n$ denote the number of types of a sample of size $n$ taken from an exchangeable coalescent process ($Ξ$-coalescent) with mutation. A distributional recursion for the sequence $(K_n)_{n\in{\mathbb N}}$ is derived. If the coalescent does not have proper frequencies, i.e., if the characterizing measure $Ξ$ on the infinite simplex $Δ$ does not have mass at zero and satisfies $\int_Δ|x|Ξ(dx)/(x,x)<\infty$, where $|x|:=\sum_{i=1}^\infty x_i$ and $(x,x):=\sum_{i=1}^\infty x_i^2$ for $x=(x_1,x_2,...)\inΔ$, then $K_n/n$ converges weakly as $n\to\infty$ to a limiting variable $K$ which is charac…
Kingman derived the Ewens sampling formula for random partitions describing the genetic variation in a neutral mutation model defined by a Poisson process of mutations along lines of descent governed by a simple coalescent process, and observed that similar methods could be applied to more complex models. M{ö}hle described the recursion which determines the generalization of the Ewens sampling formula in the situation when the lines of descent are governed by a $Λ$-coalescent, which allows multiple mergers. Here we show that the basic integral representation of transition rates for the $Λ$-coa…
We consider diploid bi-parental analogues of Cannings models: in a population of fixed size $N$ the next generation is composed of $V_{i,j}$ offspring from parents $i$ and $j$, where $V=(V_{i,j})_{1\le i\neq j \le N}$ is a (jointly) exchangeable (symmetric) array. Every individual carries two chromosome copies, each of which is inherited from one of its parents. We obtain general conditions, formulated in terms of the vector of the total number of offspring to each individual, for the convergence of the properly scaled ancestral process for an $n$-sample of genes towards a ($Ξ$-)coalescent. Th…
We give a de Finetti type representation for exchangeable random coalescent trees (formally described as semi-ultrametrics) in terms of sampling iid sequences from marked metric measure spaces. We apply this representation to define versions of tree-valued Fleming-Viot processes from a $Ξ$-lookdown model. As state spaces for these processes, we use, besides the space of isomorphy classes of metric measure spaces, also the space of isomorphy classes of marked metric measure spaces and a space of distance matrix distributions. This allows to include the case with dust in which the genealogical t…
Kingman (1978)'s representation theorem states that any exchangeable partition of $\mathbb{N}$ can be represented as a paintbox based on a random mass-partition. Similarly, any exchangeable composition (i.e. ordered partition of $\mathbb{N}$) can be represented as a paintbox based on an interval-partition (Gnedin 1997). Our first main result is that any exchangeable coalescent process (not necessarily Markovian) can be represented as a paintbox based on a random non-decreasing process valued in interval-partitions, called nested interval-partition, generalizing the notion of comb metric space …
This article considers a model of genealogy corresponding to a regular exchangeable coalescent (also known as Xi-coalescent) started from a large finite configuration, and undergoing neutral mutations. Asymptotic expressions for the number of active lineages were obtained by the author in a previous work. Analogous results for the number of active mutation-free lineages and the combined lineage lengths are derived using the same martingale-based technique. They are given in terms of convergence in probability, while extensions to convergence in moments and convergence almost surely are discuss…
For $Λ$-$n$-coalescents with mutation, we analyse the size $O_n$ of the partition block of $i\in\{1,\ldots,n\}$ at the time where the first mutation appears on the tree that affects $i$ and is shared with any other $j\in\{1,\ldots,n\}$. We provide asymptotics of $O_n$ for $n\to\infty$ and a recursion for all moments of $O_n$ for finite $n$. This variable gives an upper bound for the minimal clade size [2], which is not observable in real data. In applications to genetics, it has been shown to be useful to lower classification errors in genealogical model selection [10].
We show that the total number of collisions in the exchangeable coalescent process driven by the beta $(1,b)$ measure converges in distribution to a 1-stable law, as the initial number of particles goes to infinity. The stable limit law is also shown for the total branch length of the coalescent tree. These results were known previously for the instance $b=1$, which corresponds to the Bolthausen--Sznitman coalescent. The approach we take is based on estimating the quality of a renewal approximation to the coalescent in terms of a suitable Wasserstein distance. Application of the method to beta…
We examine the total number of collisions $C_n$ in the $Λ$-coalescent process which starts with $n$ particles. A linear growth and a stable limit law for $C_n$ are shown under the assumption of a power-like behaviour of the measure $Λ$ near 0 with exponent $0<α<1$.
$Λ$-coalescents model the evolution of a coalescing system in which any number of blocks randomly sampled from the whole may merge into a larger block. For the coalescent restricted to initially $n$ singletons we study the collision spectrum $(X_{n,k}:2\le k\le n)$, where $X_{n,k}$ counts, throughout the history of the process, the number of collisions involving exactly $k$ blocks. Our focus is on the large $n$ asymptotics of the joint distribution of the $X_{n,k}$'s, as well as on functional limits for the bulk of the spectrum for simple coalescents. Similarly to the previous studies of the t…
Suppose $Π$ is an exchangeable random partition of the positive integers and $Π_n$ is its restriction to $\{1, ..., n\}$. Let $K_n$ denote the number of blocks of $Π_n$, and let $K_{n,r}$ denote the number of blocks of $Π_n$ containing $r$ integers. We show that if $0 < α< 1$ and $K_n/(n^α \ell(n))$ converges in probability to $Γ(1-α)$, where $\ell$ is a slowly varying function, then $K_{n,r}/(n^α \ell(n))$ converges in probability to $αΓ(r - α)/r!$. This result was previously known when the convergence of $K_n/(n^α \ell(n))$ holds almost surely, but the result under the hypothesis of converge…
An important property of Kingman's coalescent is that, starting from a state with an infinite number of blocks, over any positive time horizon, it transitions into an almost surely finite number of blocks. This is known as `coming down from infinity'. Moreover, of the many different (exchangeable) stochastic coalescent models, Kingman's coalescent is the `fastest' to come down from infinity. In this article we study what happens when we counteract this `fastest' coalescent with the action of an extreme form of fragmentation. We augment Kingman's coalescent, where any two blocks merge at rate $…
We consider the exchangeable fragmentation-coagulation (EFC) processes, where the coagulations are multiple and not simultaneous, as in a $Λ$-coalescent, and the fragmentations dislocate at finite rate an individual block into sub-blocks of infinite size. Sufficient conditions are found for the block-counting process to explode (i.e. to reach $\infty$) or not and for infinity to be an exit boundary or an entrance boundary. In a case of regularly varying fragmentation and coagulation mechanisms, we find regimes where the boundary $\infty$ can be either an exit, an entrance or a regular boundary…
We prove several limit theorems that relate coalescent processes to continuous-state branching processes. Some of these theorems are stated in terms of the so-called generalized Fleming-Viot processes, which describe the evolution of a population with fixed size, and are duals to the coalescents with multiple collisions studied by Pitman and others. We first discuss asymptotics when the initial size of the population tends to infinity. In that setting, under appropriate hypotheses, we show that a rescaled version of the generalized Fleming-Viot process converges weakly to a continuous-state br…
A recursion for the joint moments of the external branch lengths for coalescents with multiple collisions ($Λ$-coalescents) is provided. This recursion is used to derive asymptotic results as the sample size $n$ tends to infinity for the joint moments of the external branch lengths and for the moments of the total external branch length of the Bolthausen-Sznitman coalescent. These asymptotic results are based on a differential equation approach, which is as well useful to obtain exact solutions for the joint moments of the external branch lengths for the Bolthausen-Sznitman coalescent. The res…
We consider standard $\La$-coalescents (or coalescents with multiple collisions) with a non-trivial "Kingman part". Equivalently, the driving measure $Λ$ has an atom at $0$; $Λ(\{0\})=c>0$. It is known that all such coalescents come down from infinity. Moreover, the number of blocks $N_t$ is asymptotic to $v(t) = 2/(ct)$ as $t\to 0$. In the present paper we investigate the second-order asymptotics of $N_t$ in the functional sense at small times. This complements our earlier results on the fluctuations of the number of blocks for a class of regular $\La$-coalescents without the Kingman part. In…
We describe a representation of the Bolthausen-Sznitman coalescent in terms of the cutting of random recursive trees. Using this representation, we prove results concerning the final collision of the coalescent restricted to [n]: we show that the distribution of the number of blocks involved in the final collision converges as n tends to infinity, and obtain a scaling law for the sizes of these blocks. We also consider the discrete-time Markov chain giving the number of blocks after each collision of the coalescent restricted to [n]; we show that the transition probabilities of the time-revers…
In this paper, we consider Beta$(2-α,α)$ (with $1<α<2$) and related $Λ$-coalescents. If $T^{(n)}$ denotes the length of an external branch of the $n$-coalescent, we prove the convergence of $n^{α-1}T^{(n)}$ when $n$ tends to $ \infty $, and give the limit. To this aim, we give asymptotics for the number $σ^{(n)}$ of collisions which occur in the $n$-coalescent until the end of the chosen external branch, and for the block counting process associated with the $n$-coalescent.
Coalescents with multiple collisions, also known as $Λ$-coalescents, were introduced by Pitman and Sagitov in 1999. These processes describe the evolution of particles that undergo stochastic coagulation in such a way that several blocks can merge at the same time to form a single block. In the case that the measure $Λ$ is the $\operatorname {Beta}(2-α,α)$ distribution, they are also known to describe the genealogies of large populations where a single individual can produce a large number of offspring. Here, we use a recent result of Birkner et al. to prove that Beta-coalescents can be embedd…
The study of the number of collisions in a Poisson-Dirichlet coalescent leads to the analysis of the following version of a stochastic leader-elec\-tion algorithm. Consider an infinite family of persons, labeled by $1,2,3,\ldots$, who generate iid random numbers from an arbitrary continuous distribution. Those persons who have generated a record value, that is, a value larger than the values of all previous persons, stay in the game, all others must leave. The remaining persons are relabeled by $1,2,3,\ldots$ maintaining their order in the first round, and the election procedure is repeated in…
We propose a new method of analyzing the asymptotics of moments of certain linear random recurrences which is based on the technique of iterative functions. By using the method, we show that the moments of the number of collisions and the absorption time in the Poisson-Dirichlet coalescent behave like the powers of the "log star" function which grows slower than any iteration of the logarithm, and thereby prove a weak law of large numbers. Finally, we discuss merits and limitations of the method and give several examples related to beta coalescents, recursive algorithms and random trees.
We study a class of Cannings models with population size $N$ having a mixed multinomial offspring distribution with random success probabilities $W_1,\ldots,W_N$ induced by independent and identically distributed positive random variables $X_1,X_2,\ldots$ via $W_i:=X_i/S_N$, $i\in\{1,\ldots,N\}$, where $S_N:=X_1+\cdots+X_N$. The ancestral lineages are hence based on a sampling with replacement strategy from a random partition of the unit interval into $N$ subintervals of lengths $W_1,\ldots,W_N$. Convergence results for the genealogy of these Cannings models are provided under regularly varyin…
Let $X_1,X_2,...$ be a sequence of random variables satisfying the distributional recursion $X_1=0$ and $X_n= X_{n-I_n}+1$ for $n=2,3,...$, where $I_n$ is a random variable with values in $\{1,...,n-1\}$ which is independent of $X_2,...,X_{n-1}$. The random variable $X_n$ can be interpreted as the absorption time of a suitable death Markov chain with state space ${\mathbb N}:=\{1,2,...\}$ and absorbing state 1, conditioned that the chain starts in the initial state $n$. This paper focuses on the asymptotics of $X_n$ as $n$ tends to infinity under the particular but important assumption that th…
