An eigenvalue problem related to cell growth (Q1077346)

The author describes in detail a linear model for the dynamics of a reproducing population which is structured according to ''size'' x and which reproduces by division into two daughters of equal size. The main question dealt with is that of the existence of a strictly dominant eigenvalue (whose existence is known, from earlier work, to determine the large-time t behavior of the population density). The main conclusion is that the existence of such an eigenvalue depends heavily on the growth rate \(g(x)=dx/dt.\) The paper is rather long and technical. The key points are a conversion of the eigenvalue problem into an integral equation and the use of results from the theory of positive operators on Banach spaces.