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O. Benichou

Publications and source records attributed to O. Benichou.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2006

Bidimensional intermittent search processes: an alternative to Levy flights strategies

Levy flights are known to be optimal search strategies in the particular case of revisitable targets. In the relevant situation of non revisitable targets, we propose an alternative model of bidimensional search processes, which explicitly relies on the widely observed intermittent behavior of foraging animals. We show analytically that intermittent strategies can minimize the search time, and therefore do constitute real optimal strategies. We study two representative modes of target detection, and determine which features of the search time are robust and do not depend on the specific characteristics of detection mechanisms. In particular, both modes lead to a global minimum of the search time as a function of the typical times spent in each state, for the same optimal duration of the ballistic phase. This last quantity could be a universal feature of bidimensional intermittent search strategies.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

First-passage times for random walks in bounded domains

We present a novel computational method of first-passage times between a starting site and a target site of regular bounded lattices. We derive accurate expressions for all the moments of this first-passage time, validated by numerical simulations. Their range of validity is discussed. We also consider the case of a starting site and two targets. In addition, we present the extension to continuous Brownian motion. These results are of great relevance to any system involving diffusion in confined media.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

First exit times and residence times for discrete random walks on finite lattices

In this paper, we derive explicit formulas for the surface averaged first exit time of a discrete random walk on a finite lattice. We consider a wide class of random walks and lattices, including random walks in a non-trivial potential landscape. We also compute quantities of interest for modelling surface reactions and other dynamic processes, such as the residence time in a subvolume, the joint residence time of several particles and the number of hits on a reflecting surface.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

Averaged residence times of stochastic motions in bounded domains

Two years ago, Blanco and Fournier (Blanco S. and Fournier R., Europhys. Lett. 2003) calculated the mean first exit time of a domain of a particle undergoing a randomly reoriented ballistic motion which starts from the boundary. They showed that it is simply related to the ratio of the volume's domain over its surface. This work was extended by Mazzolo (Mazzolo A., Europhys. Lett. 2004) who studied the case of trajectories which start inside the volume. In this letter, we propose an alternative formulation of the problem which allows us to calculate not only the mean exit time, but also the mean residence time inside a sub-domain. The cases of any combinations of reflecting and absorbing boundary conditions are considered. Lastly, we generalize our results for a wide class of stochastic motions.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

Mean joint residence time of two Brownian particles in a sphere

We calculate the mean joint residence time of two Brownian particles in a sphere, for very general initial conditions. In particular, we focus on the dependence of this residence time as a function of the diffusion coefficients of the two particles. Our results can be useful for describing kinetics of bimolecular diffusion controlled reactions activated by catalytic sites.

cond-mat.soft↗
arXiv2005

Microscopic Model of Charge Carrier Transfer in Complex Media

We present a microscopic model of a charge carrier transfer under an action of a constant electric field in a complex medium. Generalizing previous theoretical approaches, we model the dynamical environment hindering the carrier motion by dynamic percolation, i.e., as a medium comprising particles which move randomly on a simple cubic lattice, constrained by hard-core exclusion, and may spontaneously annihilate and re-appear at some prescribed rates. We determine analytically the density profiles of the "environment" particles, as seen from the stationary moving charge carrier, and calculate its terminal velocity as the function of the applied field and other system parameters. We realize that for sufficiently small external fields the force exerted on the carrier by the "environment" particles shows a viscous-like behavior and define an analog of the Stokes formula for such dynamic percolative environments. The corresponding friction coefficient is also derived.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

Optimal search strategies for hidden targets

What is the fastest way of finding a randomly hidden target? This question of general relevance is of vital importance for foraging animals. Experimental observations reveal that the search behaviour of foragers is generally intermittent: active search phases randomly alternate with phases of fast ballistic motion. In this letter, we study the efficiency of this type of two states search strategies, by calculating analytically the mean first passage time at the target. We model the perception mecanism involved in the active search phase by a diffusive process. In this framework, we show that the search strategy is optimal when the average duration of "motion phases" varies like the power either 3/5 or 2/3 of the average duration of "search phases", depending on the regime. This scaling accounts for experimental data over a wide range of species, which suggests that the kinetics of search trajectories is a determining factor optimized by foragers and that the perception activity is adequately described by a diffusion process.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2005

Kinetics of target site localization of a protein on DNA: a stochastic approach

It is widely recognized that the cleaving rate of a restriction enzyme on target DNA sequences is several orders of magnitude faster than the maximal one calculated from the diffusion--limited theory. It was therefore commonly assumed that the target site interaction of a restriction enzyme with DNA has to occur via two steps: one--dimensional diffusion along a DNA segment, and long--range jumps coming from association/dissociation events. We propose here a stochastic model for this reaction which comprises a series of 1D diffusions of a restriction enzyme on non-specific DNA sequences interrupted by 3D excursions in the solution until the target sequence is reached. This model provides an optimal finding strategy which explains the fast association rate. Modeling the excursions by uncorrelated random jumps, we recover the expression of the mean time required for target site association to occur given by Berg & al. \cite{berg81}, and we explicitly give several physical quantities describing the stochastic pathway of the enzyme. For competitive target sites we calculate two quantities: processivity and preference. By comparing these theoretical expressions to recent experimental data obtained for \textit{Eco}RV--DNA interaction, we quantify: i) the mean residence time per binding event of \textit{Eco}RV on DNA for a representative 1D diffusion coefficient, ii) the average lengths of DNA scanned during the 1D diffusion (during one binding event and during the overall process), iii) the mean time and the mean number of visits needed to go from one target site to the other. Further, we evaluate the dynamics of DNA cleavage with regard to the probability for the restriction enzyme to perform another 1D diffusion on the same DNA substrate following a 3D excursion.

q-bio.SC↗
arXiv2004

Lattice theory of trapping reactions with mobile species

We present a stochastic lattice theory describing the kinetic behavior of trapping reactions $A + B \to B$, in which both the $A$ and $B$ particles perform an independent stochastic motion on a regular hypercubic lattice. Upon an encounter of an $A$ particle with any of the $B$ particles, $A$ is annihilated with a finite probability; finite reaction rate is taken into account by introducing a set of two-state random variables - "gates", imposed on each $B$ particle, such that an open (closed) gate corresponds to a reactive (passive) state. We evaluate here a formal expression describing the time evolution of the $A$ particle survival probability, which generalizes our previous results. We prove that for quite a general class of random motion of the species involved in the reaction process, for infinite or finite number of traps, and for any time $t$, the $A$ particle survival probability is always larger in case when $A$ stays immobile, than in situations when it moves.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

Intrinsic Friction of Monolayers Adsorbed on Solid Surfaces

We overview recent results on intrinsic frictional properties of adsorbed monolayers, composed of mobile hard-core particles undergoing continuous exchanges with a vapor phase. In terms of a dynamical master equation approach we determine the velocity of a biased impure molecule - the tracer particle (TP), constrained to move inside the adsorbed monolayer probing its frictional properties, define the frictional forces exerted by the monolayer on the TP, as well as the particles density distribution in the monolayer.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

On the joint residence time of N independent two-dimensional Brownian motions

We study the behavior of several joint residence times of N independent Brownian particles in a disc of radius $R$ in two dimensions. We consider: (i) the time T_N(t) spent by all N particles simultaneously in the disc within the time interval [0,t]; (ii) the time T_N^{(m)}(t) which at least m out of N particles spend together in the disc within the time interval [0,t]; and (iii) the time {\tilde T}_N^{(m)}(t) which exactly m out of N particles spend together in the disc within the time interval [0,t]. We obtain very simple exact expressions for the expectations of these three residence times in the limit t\to\infty.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

Catalytic reactions with bulk-mediated excursions: Mixing fails to restore chemical equilibrium

In this paper we analyze the effect of the bulk-mediated excursions (BME) of reactive species on the long-time behavior of the catalytic Langmuir-Hinshelwood-like A + B \to 0 reactions in systems in which a catalytic plane (CP) is in contact with liquid phase, containg concentrations of reactive particles. Such BME result from repeated particles desorption from the CP, subsequent diffusion in the liquid phase and eventual readsorption on the CP away from the intial detachment point. This process which leads to an effective superdiffusive transport along the CP. We consider both "batch" reactions, in which all particles of reactive species were initially adsorbed onto the CP, and reactions followed by a steady inflow of particles onto the CP. We show that for "batch" reactions the BME provide an effective mixing channel and here the mean-field-type behavior emerges. On contrary, for reaction followed by a steady inflow of particles, we observe essential departures from the mean-field behavior and find that the mixing effect of the BME is insufficient to restore chemical equilibrium. We show that a steady-state is established as t \to \infty, in which the limiting value of the mean coverages of the CP depends on the particles' diffusion coefficient in the bulk liquid phase and the spatial distributions of adsorbed particles are strongly correlated. Moreover, we show that the relaxation to such a steady-state is described by a power-law function of time, in contrast to the exponential time-dependence describing the approach to equilibrium in perfectly stirred systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

Pascal Principle for Diffusion-Controlled Trapping Reactions

"All misfortune of man comes from the fact that he does not stay peacefully in his room", has once asserted Blaise Pascal. In the present paper we evoke this statement as the "Pascal principle" in regard to the problem of survival of an "A" particle, which performs a lattice random walk in presence of a concentration of randomly moving traps "B", and gets annihilated upon encounters with any of them. We prove here that at sufficiently large times for both perfect and imperfect trapping reactions, for arbitrary spatial dimension "d" and for a rather general class of random walks, the "A" particle survival probability is less than or equal to the survival probability of an immobile target in the presence of randomly moving traps.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

Exactly solvable model of reactions on a random catalytic chain

In this paper we study a catalytically-activated A + A \to 0 reaction taking place on a one-dimensional regular lattice which is brought in contact with a reservoir of A particles. The A particles have a hard-core and undergo continuous exchanges with the reservoir, adsorbing onto the lattice or desorbing back to the reservoir. Some lattice sites possess special, catalytic properties, which induce an immediate reaction between two neighboring A particles as soon as at least one of them lands onto a catalytic site. We consider three situations for the spatial placement of the catalytic sites: regular, annealed random and quenched random. For all these cases we derive exact results for the partition function, and the disorder-averaged pressure per lattice site. We also present exact asymptotic results for the particles' mean density and the system's compressibility. The model studied here furnishes another example of a 1D Ising-type system with random multisite interactions which admits an exact solution.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2003

Exactly solvable model of A + A \to 0 reactions on a heterogeneous catalytic chain

We present an exact solution describing equilibrium properties of the catalytically-activated A + A \to 0 reaction taking place on a one-dimensional lattice, where some of the sites possess special "catalytic" properties. The A particles undergo continuous exchanges with the vapor phase; two neighboring adsorbed As react when at least one of them resides on a catalytic site (CS). We consider three situations for the CS distribution: regular, annealed random and quenched random. For all three CS distribution types, we derive exact results for the disorder-averaged pressure and present exact asymptotic expressions for the particles' mean density. The model studied here furnishes another example of a 1D Ising-type system with random multi-site interactions which admits an exact solution.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2002

Biased Tracer Diffusion in Hard-Core Lattice Gases: Some Notes on the Validity of the Einstein Relation

In this presentation we overview some recent results on biased tracer diffusion in lattice gases. We consider both models in which the gas particles density is explicitly conserved and situations in which the lattice gas particles undergo continuous exchanges with a reservoir, which case is appropriate, e.g., to adsorbed monolayers in contact with the vapor phase. For all these models we determine, in some cases exactly and in other ones - using a certain decoupling approximation, the mean displacement of a tracer particle (TP) driven by a constant external force in a dynamical background formed by the lattice gas particles whose transition rates are symmetric. Evaluating the TP mean displacement explicitly we are able to define the TP mobility, which allows us to demonstrate that the Einstein relation between the TP mobility and the diffusivity generally holds, despite the fact that in some cases diffusion is anomalous. For models treated within the framework of the decoupling approximation, our analytical results are confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations. Perturbance of the lattice gas particles distribution due to the presence of a biased TP and the form of the particle density profiles are also discussed.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗
arXiv2002

Trapping Reactions with Randomly Moving Traps: Exact Asymptotic Results for Compact Exploration

In a recent Letter Bray and Blythe have shown that the survival probability P(t) of an A particle diffusing with a diffusion coefficient D_A in a 1D system with diffusive traps B is independent of D_A in the asymptotic limit t \to \infty and coincides with the survival probability of an immobile target in the presence of diffusive traps. Here we show that this remarkable behavior has a more general range of validity and holds for systems of an arbitrary dimension d, integer or fractal, provided that the traps are "compactly exploring" the space, i.e. the "fractal" dimension dw of traps' trajectories is greater than d. For the marginal case when dw = d, as exemplified here by conventional diffusion in 2D systems, the decay form is determined up to a numerical factor in the characteristic decay time.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗