A law of small numbers for a mutation process (Q1122535)

The authors consider a system consisting of \(2^ n\) particles at time n, \(n=0,1,...\), each of the particles being either blue or white. At time 0 the particle is white. At any time n, \(n=1,2,...\), each particle splits into two particles of the same colour. Particles act independently of each other and of their history; during time interval (n, \(n+1)\) each white particle mutates to blue with probability \(p_ n\), and each blue particle mutates to white with probability \(\alpha_ n.\) The authors prove three theorems on the limit distribution of the number \(X_{nn}\) of blue particles at time n-0 when both \(p_ n\) and \(\alpha_ n\) are small. It is shown that the conditions \(2^{n-1}p_ n\to \lambda\), \(0<\lambda <\infty\), and \(n^ 2\alpha_ n\to 0\) are sufficient for the limit distribution of \(X_{nn}\) to exist and are the same as in the case when no reverse mutations are allowed.