Noise-enhanced mechanical efficiency in microorganism transport

C.a Condat and G.j Sibona

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2002, vol. 316, issue 1, 203-212

Abstract: Brownian forces have a nonnegligible effect on the motion of small microorganisms (sizes of the order of the μ or smaller). Starting from the model for the motion of Brownian objects with internal energy depots recently proposed by Schweitzer et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 80 (1998) 5044) (SET), we show that external fluctuations can increase the mechanical efficiency of a microorganism's propulsion system. Our analytical results and Monte-Carlo simulations suggest that, under certain circumstances, microorganisms can take advantage of Brownian forces to search more efficiently for a favorable environment. Other dynamical properties of the model are also examined.

Keywords: Bacteria; Brownian motion; Efficiency; Noise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:316:y:2002:i:1:p:203-212

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(02)01496-6

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