Perpetuities are sequences in random variables, defined recursively, as successive iterations of a linear function with random coefficients. They are ubiquitous in many areas of mathematics and other branches of science and have been studied extensively in past few decades. 

In this talk, after giving a background, we describe a few new results obtained in the last few years. They include, in particular, new information on the tail behavior of light-tailed perpetuities, as well as some results concerning divergent perpetuities.

Dr. Pawel Hitczenko is a Professor of Mathematics at Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA). He received his PhD in Mathematics from Warsaw University (Warsaw, Poland). 

Prior to joining Drexel University he held positions at North Carolina State University, Texas A&M University, and he was a long term visitor at universities in Australia, Finland, France, and Poland.