Recursive construction of continuum random trees (Q1800818)

The paper deals with the construction of (possibly weighted) continuum random trees via recursive tree processes in the sense of \textit{D. J. Aldous} and \textit{A. Bandyopadhyay} [Ann. Appl. Probab. 15, No. 2, 1047--1110 (2005; Zbl 1105.60012)]. The construction is as follows. A string of beads is a pair of the form \(([0,\ell],\sum_{i \geq 1} p_i \delta_{x_i})\) with \(\ell > 0\), \(x_i \in [0,\ell]\), pairwise distinct, \(\ell = \sup_{i \geq 1}x_i\) and \(p_1 \geq p_2 \geq \ldots \geq 0\), \(\sum_{i \geq 1} p_i = 1\). Fix \(\beta > 0\). Now define the map \(\phi_\beta\) that maps a string of beads \(([0,\ell],\sum_{i \geq 1} p_i \delta_{x_i})\) and a sequence \((t_i)_{i \in \mathbb{N}}\) of continuum trees to the continuum tree consisting of the interval \([0,\ell]\) and scaled versions of the trees \(t_i\), \(i \geq 1\) where \(t_i\) is attached to the interval \([0,\ell]\) at the point \(x_i\) and distances in \(t_i\) are scaled by \(p_i^\beta\) and masses by \(p_i\). Now pick a random string of beads \(\xi\) and an independent sequence of i.i.d.\ random compact \(\mathbb{R}\)-trees \((\mathcal{T}_i)_{i \in \mathbb{N}}\) and apply \(\phi_\beta\) to obtain a new random compact \(\mathbb{R}\)-tree \(\mathcal{T}\). This induces a map \(\Phi_\beta\) on the space of probability measures on the set (of isometry classes) of compact \(\mathbb{R}\)-trees mapping the law of \(\mathcal{T}_i\) to that of \(\mathcal{T}\). Under suitable assumptions, \(\Phi_\beta\) is a contraction on a complete separable metric space and hence has a unique attracting fixed point, which completes the construction. The approach is further extended to generalised strings to increase the scope. The main results of the paper, among others, \begin{itemize} \item characterize the Brownian continuum random tree (and the stable tree of index \(\alpha \in (1,2]\)) as a unique attractive fixed point of a suitable map as above; \item provide alternative constructions of existing self-similar continuum random trees in the sense of \textit{B. Haas} and \textit{G. Miermont} [Ann. Probab. 40, No. 6, 2589--2666 (2012; Zbl 1259.60033)] and \textit{R. Stephenson} [Electron. J. Probab. 18, Paper No. 101, 45 p. (2013; Zbl 1297.60023)]; \item allow the first construction of random compact \(\mathbb{R}\)-trees that describe the genealogies of \textit{J. Bertoin}'s self-similar growth fragmentations [Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Probab. Stat. 38, No. 3, 319--340 (2002; Zbl 1002.60072)]. \end{itemize}