Exponential decay for the fragmentation or cell-division equation

We consider a classical integro-differential equation that arises in various applications as a model for cell-division or fragmentation. In biology, it describes the evolution of the density of cells that grow and divide. We prove the existence of a stable steady distribution (first positive eigenvector) under general assumptions in the variable coefficients case. We also prove the exponential convergence, for large times, of solutions toward such a steady state.