On the branching convolution equation \(\mathcal{E}=\mathcal{Z}\circledast \mathcal{E} \) (Q2078225)

The paper deals with the branching convolution equation \(\mathcal{E} = \mathcal{Z} \star \mathcal{E}\) for distributions of point processes on the real line. Here, \(\mathcal{Z} \star\ \mathcal{E}\) denotes the law of the point process \(\sum_{j} \tau_{z_j} E^{(j)}\) where \(Z = \sum_j \delta_{z_j}\) is a point process on \(\mathbb{R}\) with law \(\mathcal{Z}\), the \(E^{(j)}\), \(j\) are i.i.d.\ point processes on \(\mathbb{R}\) with distribution \(\mathcal{E}\) such that \(Z, E^{(1)}, E^{(2)}, \ldots\) are independent, and \(\tau_x\) is the shift operator shifting the atoms of a point process by \(x \in \mathbb{R}\). Under mild assumptions, the authors show that the solutions to this branching convolution equation are precisely the shifted decorated Poisson point processes with \begin{itemize} \item the shift being (up to a factor) the logarithm of a multiple of an associated (derivative) martingale limit, \item intensity measure \(e^{-\alpha x} \, \mathrm{d}x\) for some (Malthusian) parameter \(\alpha > 0\), \item decoration point process having its rightmost atom at the origin. \end{itemize} The result gives a theoretical explanation of the occurrence of shifted decorated Poisson point processes in various limit theorems proved recently in the literature including limit theorems for branching Brownian motion. The limiting point processes in these results solve the branching convolution equation and thus, by the main result of the paper, must be shifted decorated Poisson point processes. The result does not allow to deduce the form of the decoration point process. The latter cannot be determined by the branching convolution equation \(\mathcal{E} = \mathcal{Z} \star \mathcal{E}\) (while the intensity measure is determined and the shift is determined up to a constant). Further, the authors formulate a conjecture regarding the solutions to the dual branching convolution equation \(\mathcal{E} = \mathcal{E} \star \mathcal{Z}\), namely, that the solutions are also shifted decorated Poisson point processes but with uniquely determined decoration point process. If the conjectured representation holds, processes that satisfy both, the branching convolution equation and its dual, could be identified up to a deterministic shift.