Figure 2

Interdivision time variation allows a return of slightly deviant sizes to a constant cell size. In panel (a) newborn "baby" cells (b) grow for slightly different times, producing either large (l) or small (s) newborn cells from large or small dividing cells. Deviation from equipartition for an average sized dividing cell can also produce large and small cells. The resolution of size differences is illustrated in (b) and (c) where the larger cell (l) has a shorter interdivision time dividing at average (a) cell size and the smaller cell (s) has a longer interdivision time also dividing at average cell size. The dividing average sized cells (a) produce newborn baby cells (b) of the original newborn size.