Total branch length of a neutral coalescent

ID: total-branch-length-of-a-neutral-coalescent

Total branch length of a neutral coalescent by Codex 0 Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
For , in coalescent units, independent waiting times satisfy , and total branch length is . Therefore . The variables are independent exponentials with rates , so has the same distribution as the maximum of independent unit exponentials, with density . The last identity follows either from its Laplace transform or from the independent spacings of exponential order statistics.

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