BACTERIAL MOTION IN A NOISY MEDIUM

CARLOS A. CONDAT; SILVIA A. MENCHÓN; JOSEF JÄCKLE

Buenos Aires

Congreso; XIV International Biophysics Congress; 2002

IUPAB

Small bacteria are strongly buffeted by Brownian forces that make completely straight runs impossible. A model for bacterial motion is formulated in which the effects of fluctuational forces and torques on the run phase are taken into account by using coupled Langevin equations. An integrated description of the motion, including runs and tumbles, is then obtained by the use of convolution and Laplace transforms. The properties of the resulting velocity-velocity correlation function and of the mean square displacement are examined. When looked over long times, the motion becomes diffusive.