Entropy production of run-and-tumble particles

TL;DR

This paper investigates entropy production in run-and-tumble particles, deriving exact results for various physical scenarios and extending the analysis to anisotropic, heterogeneous, and higher-dimensional motions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive formalism and exact expressions for entropy production in run-and-tumble models, including anisotropic and heterogeneous cases, and extends to multiple dimensions.

Findings

Exact entropy production rates for free particles and harmonic confinement.

Derived formulas for anisotropic run-and-tumble motion.

Extended analysis to heterogeneous and multi-dimensional cases.

Abstract

We analyze the entropy production in run-and-tumble models. After presenting the general formalism in the framework of the Fokker-Planck equations in one space dimension, we derive some known exact results in simple physical situations (free run-and-tumble particles and harmonic confinement). We then extend the calculation to the case of anisotropic motion (different speeds and tumbling rates for right and left oriented particles), obtaining exact expressions of the entropy production rate. We conclude by discussing the general case of heterogeneous run-and-tumble motion described by space-dependent parameters and extending the analysis to the case of d-dimensional motions.