Hamiltonian active particles in an environment

TL;DR

This paper models an active Brownian particle using a Hamiltonian system with an internal energy depot, demonstrating how dissipation can stabilize activity and how the particle can harvest environmental energy.

Contribution

It introduces a Hamiltonian framework for active particles with internal energy depots, revealing stabilization mechanisms and energy harvesting capabilities.

Findings

Dissipation can stabilize active motion.

Active particles can harvest energy from the environment.

Hamiltonian modeling captures energy dynamics of active particles.

Abstract

We examine a Hamiltonian system which represents an active Brownian particle that can move against an external force by drawing energy from an internal depot while immersed in a noisy and dissipative environment. The Hamiltonian consists of two subsystems, one representing the active particle's motion and the other its depot of `fuel'. We show that although the active particle loses some of its energy to dissipation from the environment, dissipation can also help to stabilize the dynamical process that makes the particle active. Additionally we show how a Hamiltonian active particle can harvest energy from its environment.