Diffusion of noiseless active particles in a planar convection array.

Abstract

We investigated, both analytically and numerically, the dynamics of a noiseless overdamped active particle in a square lattice of planar counter-rotating convection rolls. Below a first threshold of the self-propulsion speed, a fraction of the simulated particle's trajectories spatially diffuse around the convection rolls, whereas the remaining trajectories remain trapped inside the injection roll. We detected two chaotic diffusion regimes: (i) below a second, higher threshold of the self-propulsion speed, the particle performs a random motion characterized by asymptotic normal diffusion. Long superdiffusive transients were observed for vanishing small self-propulsion speeds. (ii) above that threshold, the particle follows chaotic running trajectories with speed and orientation close to those of the self-propulsion vector at injection and its dynamics is superdiffusive. Chaotic diffusion disappears in the ballistic limit of extremely large self-propulsion speeds.