Regensburg 2016 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 30: Microswimmers I (Joint Session with DY)

BP 30.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 8, 2016, 10:30–10:45, H47

Dynamics of a single self-propelled particle — •Christina Kurzthaler, Sebastian Leitmann, and Thomas Franosch — Department for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

The dynamics of a single self-propelled particle in two dimensions is analyzed in terms of the intermediate scattering function, i.e. the characteristic function of the random displacements. Its analytical solution is derived by solving the Fourier transform of the Fokker-Planck equation which has the form of a complex Mathieu equation. Exact expressions for the mean-square displacement and non-Gaussian parameter are obtained as derivatives of the intermediate scattering function. For large wave numbers, oscillations in the intermediate scattering function reflect the persistent swimming motion, whereas at small wave numbers diffusive behavior emerges with an effective diffusion coefficient depending on the velocity and rotational diffusion of the swimmer.