Branching processes with varying and random geometric offspring distributions

Abstract

The class of fractional linear generating functions is used to illustrate various aspects of the theory of branching processes in varying and random environments. In particular, it is shown that Church's theorem on convergence of the varying environments process admits of an elementary proof in this particular case. For random environments, examples are given on the asymptotic behavior of extinction probabilities in the supercritical case and conditional expectation given non-extinction in the subcritical case.