Macroscopic fluctuation theory and the absorption of Brownian particles by partially reactive targets

Abstract

We use macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT) to analyse current fluctuations in a non-interacting Brownian gas with one or more partially absorbing targets within a bounded domain $\Omega \subset \R^d$. We proceed by coarse-graining a generalised Dean-Kawasaki equation with Robin boundary conditions at the target surfaces. The exterior surface $\partial \Omega$ is maintained at a constant density $\owp$. We first derive MFT equations for the optimal noise-induced path for a single target under a saddle-point approximation of the associated path integral action. We then obtain the Gaussian distribution characterising small current fluctuations by linearising the MFT equations about the corresponding deterministic or noise-averaged system and solving the resulting stationary equations. The Robin boundary conditions are handled using the spectrum of a Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator defined on the target surface. We illustrate the theory by considering the finite interval and a circular annulus. In both cases we determine how the variance of the current depends on the rate of absorption $\kappa$. Finally, we extend our analysis to multiple partially absorbing targets. First, we obtain the general result that, in the case of partially absorbing targets ($0<\kappa<\infty$), the covariance matrix for current fluctuations supports cross correlations even in the absence of particle interactions. (These cross-correlations vanish in the totally absorbing limit $\kappa\rightarrow \infty$.) We then explicitly calculate the covariance matrix for circular targets in a 2D domain by assuming that the targets are much smaller than the characteristic size $L$ of the domain $\Omega$ and applying methods from singular perturbation theory.