Population dynamics in the Penna model

We build upon the recent steady-state Penna model solution [J. B. Coe, Y. Mao, and M. E. Cates, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 288103 (2002)] to study the population dynamics within the Penna model. We show that any perturbation to the population can be broken into a collection of modes each of which decay exponentially with its respective time constant. The long time behavior of population is therefore likely to be dominated by the modes with the largest time constants. We confirm our analytical approach with simulation data.