Percolation in an ultrametric space

We study percolation on the hierarchical lattice of order $N$ where the probability of connection between two points separated by distance $k$ is of the form $c_k/N^{k(1+\delta)},\; \delta >-1$. Since the distance is an ultrametric, there are significant differences with percolation on the Euclidean lattice. There are two non-critical regimes: $\delta <1$, where percolation occurs, and $\delta >1$, where it does not occur. In the critical case, $\delta =1$, we use an approach in the spirit of the renormalization group method of statistical physics and connectivity results of Erd\H{o}s-Renyi random graphs play a key role. We find sufficient conditions on $c_k$ such that percolation occurs, or that it does not occur. An intermediate situation called pre-percolation is also considered. In the cases of percolation we prove uniqueness of the constructed percolation clusters. In a previous paper \cite{DG1} we studied percolation in the $N\to\infty$ limit (mean field percolation) which provided a simplification that allowed finding a necessary and sufficient condition for percolation. For fixed $N$ there are open questions, in particular regarding the existence of a critical value of a parameter in the definition of $c_k$, and if it exists, what would be the behaviour at the critical point

Stochastic equations, flows and measure-valued processes

We first prove some general results on pathwise uniqueness, comparison property and existence of nonnegative strong solutions of stochastic equations driven by white noises and Poisson random measures. The results are then used to prove the strong existence of two classes of stochastic flows associated with coalescents with multiple collisions, that is, generalized Fleming--Viot flows and flows of continuous-state branching processes with immigration. One of them unifies the different treatments of three kinds of flows in Bertoin and Le Gall [Ann. Inst. H. Poincar\'{e} Probab. Statist. 41 (2005) 307--333]. Two scaling limit theorems for the generalized Fleming--Viot flows are proved, which lead to sub-critical branching immigration superprocesses. From those theorems we derive easily a generalization of the limit theorem for finite point motions of the flows in Bertoin and Le Gall [Illinois J. Math. 50 (2006) 147--181].Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOP629 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Asymptotic behavior of the Poisson--Dirichlet distribution for large mutation rate

The large deviation principle is established for the Poisson--Dirichlet distribution when the parameter $\theta$ approaches infinity. The result is then used to study the asymptotic behavior of the homozygosity and the Poisson--Dirichlet distribution with selection. A phase transition occurs depending on the growth rate of the selection intensity. If the selection intensity grows sublinearly in $\theta$, then the large deviation rate function is the same as the neutral model; if the selection intensity grows at a linear or greater rate in $\theta$, then the large deviation rate function includes an additional term coming from selection. The application of these results to the heterozygote advantage model provides an alternate proof of one of Gillespie's conjectures in [Theoret. Popul. Biol. 55 145--156].Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/105051605000000818 in the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org