One-dimensional run-and-tumble motions with generic boundary conditions

Abstract

Abstract The motion of run-and-tumble particles in one-dimensional finite domains are analyzed in the presence of generic boundary conditions. These describe accumulation at walls, where particles can either be absorbed at a given rate, or tumble, with a rate that may be, in general, different from that in the bulk. This formulation allows us to treat in a unified way very different boundary conditions (fully and partially absorbing/reflecting, sticky, sticky-reactive and sticky-absorbing boundaries) which can be recovered as appropriate limits of the general case. We report the general expression of the mean exit time, valid for generic boundaries, discussing many case studies, from equal boundaries to more interesting cases of different boundary conditions at the two ends of the domain, resulting in nontrivial expressions of mean exit times.