Origin of lognormal-like distributions with a common width in a growth and division process

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2011 Mar;83(3 Pt 1):031118. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.83.031118. Epub 2011 Mar 16.

Abstract

Lognormal statistical distributions are observed in a variety of scientific fields. The widths of these distributions in the log scale are often similar, but the underlying mechanism that maintains these widths within a small range has not been well explained. We show that a stochastic process of halving followed by addition can yield a stationary distribution that resembles the universal lognormal distribution with a certain width. The mechanism that we propose here would provide insight into the essence of why lognormal-like distributions in many systems have a common width.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
  • Biometry
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Humans
  • Mathematics*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Normal Distribution
  • Probability
  • Statistical Distributions
  • Stochastic Processes