| Article ID: | iaor1999431 |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 34 |
| Issue: | 3 |
| Start Page Number: | 720 |
| End Page Number: | 732 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 1997 |
| Journal: | Journal of Applied Probability |
| Authors: | Kroese Dirk P. |
We consider a continuous polling system in heavy traffic. Using the relationship between such systems and age-dependent branching processes, we show that the steady-state number of waiting customers in heavy traffic has approximately a gamma distribution. Moreover, given their total number, the configuration of these customers is approximately deterministic.