Exponential Integral Solutions for Fixation Time in Wright-Fisher Model With Selection

Abstract: In this work we derive new analytic expressions for fixation time in Wright-Fisher model with selection. The three standard cases for fixation are considered: fixation to zero, to one or both. Second order differential equations for fixation time are obtained by a simplified approach using only the law of total probability and Taylor expansions. The obtained solutions are given by a combination of exponential integral functions with elementary functions. We then state approximate formulas involving only elementary functions valid for small selection effects. The quality of our results are explored throughout an extensive simulation study. We show that our results approximate the discrete problem very accurately even for small population size (a few hundreds) and large selection coefficients.