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Equation 24 · Einstein's Random Walk and the Mathematics of Genetic Drift

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p=0.5p=0.5

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Inputs and operations0.5
Result or conditionp
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pp

Symbol p

the starting from frequency.

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=

=

The expressions on both sides represent the same quantity under the stated assumptions.

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The same second-derivative operator acts on a diffusion term in both; only the variable and the coefficient it multiplies have changed. One honest difference is worth stating rather than smoothing over: Einstein’s D is a constant, fixed once by temperature and viscosity, while Kimura’s V(p) depends on the frequency itself, so the spread is fastest near p=0.5 and vanishes at the boundaries — an allele already fixed or already lost has nothing left to drift into [ 7 ] . The operator is identical; the coefficient it acts on has learned something about the biology.

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