Stability of the analytical solution of Penna model of biological aging

Abstract

There are some analytical solutions of the Penna model of biological aging; here, we discuss the approach by Coe et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 288103, 2002), based on the concept of self-consistent solution of a master equation representing the Penna model. The equation describes transition of the population distribution at time t to next time step (t + 1). For the steady state, the population n(a, l, t) at age a and for given genome length l becomes time-independent. In this paper we discuss the stability of the analytical solution at various ranges of the model parameters—the birth rate b or mutation rate m. The map for the transition from n(a, l, t) to the next time step population distribution n(a + 1, l, t + 1) is constructed. Then the fix point (the steady state solution) brings recovery of Coe et al. results. From the analysis of the stability matrix, the Lyapunov coefficients, indicative of the stability of the solutions, are extracted. The results lead to phase diagram of the stable solutions in the space of model parameters (b, m, h), where h is the hunt rate. With increasing birth rate b, we observe critical b ₀ below which population is extinct, followed by non-zero stable single solution. Further increase in b leads to typical series of bifurcations with the cycle doubling until the chaos is reached at some b _c. Limiting cases such as those leading to the logistic model are also discussed.