Motion of an active particle with dynamical disorder

TL;DR

This paper models the motion of an active particle in a heterogeneous environment using Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes, exploring how environmental disorder influences its dynamics through diffusing diffusivity and switching diffusion models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework combining active particle dynamics with environmental heterogeneity via two distinct models, enhancing understanding of motion in crowded, fluctuating environments.

Findings

Dynamical behavior governed by diffusive and persistence timescales.

Environmental heterogeneity significantly affects active particle motion.

Model applicable to single-particle dynamics in crowded, active systems.

Abstract

We propose a model for the motion of a single active particle in a heterogeneous environment where the heterogeneity may arise due to the crowding, conformational fluctuations and/or slow rearrangement of the surroundings. Describing the active particle in terms of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process (OUP) and incorporating the heterogeneity in the thermal bath using the two separate models, namely "diffusing diffusivity" and "switching diffusion", we explore the essential dynamical properties of the particle for its one-dimensional motion. In addition, we show how the dynamical behavior is controlled by two timescales, namely diffusive time and persistence time. Our model is relevant in the context of single particle dynamics in crowded environment, driven by activity.