Table 1.

Notation used to describe the model.^a

N(t), NE	Number of cccDNA molecules at time t since infection and at equilibrium
K	Maximum possible number of cccDNA molecules
Y(t), YE	cccDNA burden in the liver at time t since infection and at equilibrium, expressed as a proportion of the maximum possible number of cccDNA, Y(t)=N(t)/K, YE= NE/K
ρ(t)	Per capita proliferation rate of cccDNA at time t since infection
g(t), gE, gY≪1	Generation time of cccDNA at time t since infection, at equilibrium, and when few cells are infected
S(t), SE	Neutral rate of evolution at time t since infection and at equilibrium
L E, LY≪1	Life span of cccDNA molecules at equilibrium and when few cells are infected
β	Per capita replicative capacity, defined as the per capita growth rate of cccDNA when few cells are infected and in the absence of infected cell death or loss of cccDNA due to non-cytolytic immune responses.
R 0	The basic reproductive number of cccDNA (the number of cccDNA molecules a single cccDNA produces in its lifetime in an otherwise uninfected population of hepatocytes)
b= βΚ	Replicative capacity of cccDNA (a rescaled measure of the per capita replicative capacity)
d	Per capita natural death rate of hepatocytes
δ	Per capita additional death rate of infected hepatocytes due to cytolytic immune responses
c	Per capita loss rate of cccDNA due to non-cytolytic immune responses
q	Probability that a cccDNA molecule survives mitosis
µ	Mutation rate of cccDNA (substitutions per site per reproduction)

^aThroughout we use days as the time unit and all rates are per day unless stated otherwise.