Active Brownian Dynamics in Channels: First-Passage and Spatiotemporal Properties via Siegmund Duality

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Contributors

  • Yanis Baouche - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Mathis Guéneau - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Author)
  • Christina Kurzthaler - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Clusters of Excellence PoL: Physics of Life (Author)

Abstract

Accumulation at boundaries represents a widely observed phenomenon in active systems with implications for microbial ecology and engineering applications. To rationalize the underlying physics, we study the first-passage properties and spatial distributions of an active Brownian particle (ABP) in a channel. Leveraging Siegmund duality, we establish a direct mapping between the propagators of ABPs with absorbing and hard-wall boundary conditions, yielding analytical results in both problems. We analyze the system across low and high activity regimes—quantifying persistent motion relative to diffusion—and show that active motion, together with a favorable initial orientation, typically lowers the mean first-passage time relative to passive diffusion. Notably, the full time-dependent propagator between hard walls approaches a wall-accumulated stationary state, given by the derivative of the splitting probability as a consequence of Siegmund duality.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number138301
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume137
Issue number13
Publication statusPublished - 25 Sept 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas