NESTING TWO STOCHASTIC PROCESSES: A MODEL FOR BACTERIAL MOTION

SILVIA A. MENCHÓN; CARLOS A. CONDAT

Colonia (Uruguay)

Congreso; XIII Meeting on Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics and Nonlinear Physics; 2002

Bacteria move under the combined action of deterministic propelling forces and noise. In addition, in order to optimize their search for resources, they often interrupt runs, restarting them in arbitrary directions. Their motion can thus be best described in terms of two nested stochastics processes. Our model can predict the average properties of bacterial motion, such as the mean square speed and the mean square displacement, in terms of measurable parameters. The dependence of these properties on such parameters as the impulsive force and the mean run length is examined and the conditions under which the motion becomes diffusive are discussed in detail.