Relaxation Equations with Stretched Non-local Operators: Renewals and Time-Changed Processes

Abstract We introduce and study renewal processes defined by means of extensions of the standard relaxation equation through “stretched” non-local operators (of order $$\alpha $$ α and with parameter $$\gamma $$ γ ). In a first case, we obtain a generalization of the fractional Poisson process, which displays either infinite or finite expected waiting times between arrivals, depending on the parameter $$\gamma $$ γ . Therefore, the introduction in the operator of the non-homogeneous term driven by $$\gamma $$ γ allows us to regulate the transition between different regimes of our renewal process. We then consider a second-order relaxation-type equation involving the same operator, under different sets of conditions on the constants involved; for a particular choice of these constants, we prove that the corresponding renewal process is linked to the first one by convex combination of its distributions. We also discuss alternative models related to the same equations and their time-changed representation, in terms of the inverse of a non-decreasing process which generalizes the $$\alpha $$ α -stable Lévy subordinator.