Optimization of escape kinetics by reflecting and resetting.

Stochastic restarting is a strategy of starting anew. Incorporation of the resetting to the random walks can result in a decrease in the mean first passage time due to the ability to limit unfavorably meandering, sub-optimal trajectories. In this paper, we examine how stochastic resetting influences escape dynamics from the (-∞,1) interval in the presence of the single-well power-law |x|κ potentials with κ>0. Examination of the mean first passage time is complemented by the analysis of the coefficient of variation, which provides a robust and reliable indicator assessing the efficiency of stochastic resetting. The restrictive nature of resetting is compared to placing a reflective boundary in the system at hand. In particular, for each potential, the position of the reflecting barrier giving the same mean first passage time as the optimal resetting rate is determined. Finally, in addition to reflecting, we compare the effectiveness of other resetting strategies with respect to optimization of the mean first passage time.

Stochastic model of translocation of knotted proteins.

Knotted proteins, when forced through the pores, can get stuck if the knots in their backbone tighten under force. Alternatively, the knot can slide off the chain, making translocation possible. We construct a simple energy landscape model of this process with a time-periodic potential that mimics the action of a molecular motor. We calculate the translocation time as a function of the period of the pulling force, discuss the asymptotic limits and biological relevance of the results.

Drifted escape from the finite interval.

Properties of the noise-driven escape kinetics are mainly determined by the stochastic component of the system dynamics. Nevertheless, the escape dynamics is also sensitive to deterministic forces. Here, we are exploring properties of the overdamped drifted escape from finite intervals under the action of symmetric α-stable noises. We show that the properly rescaled mean first passage time follows the universal pattern as a function of the generalized Pécklet number, which can be used to efficiently discriminate between domains where drift or random force dominate. Stochastic driving of the α-stable type is capable of diminishing the significance of the drift in the regime when the drift prevails.

Interplay of noise induced stability and stochastic resetting.

Stochastic resetting and noise-enhanced stability are two phenomena that can affect the lifetime and relaxation of nonequilibrium states. They can be considered measures of controlling the efficiency of the completion process when a stochastic system has to reach the desired state. Here, we study the interaction of random (Poissonian) resetting and stochastic dynamics in unstable potentials. Unlike noise-induced stability that increases the relaxation time, the stochastic resetting may eliminate winding trajectories contributing to the lifetime and accelerate the escape kinetics from unstable states. In this paper, we present a framework to analyze compromises between the two contrasting phenomena in noise-driven kinetics subject to random restarts.

Inertial Lévy flights in bounded domains.

The escape from a given domain is one of the fundamental problems in statistical physics and the theory of stochastic processes. Here, we explore properties of the escape of an inertial particle driven by Lévy noise from a bounded domain, restricted by two absorbing boundaries. The presence of two absorbing boundaries assures that the escape process can be characterized by the finite mean first passage time. The detailed analysis of escape kinetics shows that properties of the mean first passage time for the integrated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process driven by Lévy noise are closely related to properties of the integrated Lévy motions, which, in turn, are close to properties of the integrated Wiener process. The extensive studies of the mean first passage time were complemented by examination of the escape velocity and energy along with their sensitivity to initial conditions.

Physics of free climbing.

The theory of stochastic processes provides theoretical tools which can be efficiently used to explore the properties of noise-induced escape kinetics. Since noise-facilitated escape over the potential barrier resembles free climbing, one can use the first-passage time theory in an analysis of rock climbing. We perform the analysis of the mean first-passage time in order to answer the question regarding the optimal, i.e., resulting in the fastest climbing, rope length. It is demonstrated that there is a discrete set of favorable rope lengths assuring the shortest climbing times, as they correspond to local minima of mean first-passage time. Within the set of favorable rope lengths there is the optimal rope giving rise to the shortest climbing time. In particular, more experienced climbers can decrease their climbing time by using longer ropes.

Dichotomous flow with thermal diffusion and stochastic resetting.

We consider properties of one-dimensional diffusive dichotomous flow and discuss effects of stochastic resonant activation (SRA) in the presence of a statistically independent random resetting mechanism. Resonant activation and stochastic resetting are two similar effects, as both of them can optimize the noise-induced escape. Our studies show completely different origins of optimization in adapted setups. Efficiency of stochastic resetting relies on elimination of suboptimal trajectories, while SRA is associated with matching of time scales in the dynamic environment. Consequently, both effects can be easily tracked by studying their asymptotic properties. Finally, we show that stochastic resetting cannot be easily used to further optimize the SRA in symmetric setups.

Underdamped, anomalous kinetics in double-well potentials.

The noise-driven motion in a bistable potential acts as the archetypal model of various physical phenomena. Here, we contrast properties of the overdamped escape dynamics with the full (underdamped) dynamics. In the weak noise limit, for the overdamped particle driven by nonequilibrium, α-stable noise the ratio of forward to backward transition rates depends only on the width of a potential barrier separating both minima. Using analytical and numerical methods, we show that in the regime of full dynamics, contrary to the overdamped case, the ratio of transition rates depends on both the widths and the heights of the potential barrier separating minima of the double-well potential. The derived analytical formula for the ratio of transition rates is corroborated by extensive numerical simulations. Results of numerical simulations follow especially well the analytical predictions in the weak noise limit when the most probable escape scenario is via a single, strong, noise kick, which is sufficient to induce a quasideterministic transition over the potential barrier. Such an escape trajectory can be analyzed in terms of the instantaneous velocity, which is fully characterized by its density function, which is of the same type as the probability density underlying the noise distribution.

Lévy noise-driven escape from arctangent potential wells.

The escape from a potential well is an archetypal problem in the study of stochastic dynamical systems, representing real-world situations from chemical reactions to leaving an established home range in movement ecology. Concurrently, Lévy noise is a well-established approach to model systems characterized by statistical outliers and diverging higher order moments, ranging from gene expression control to the movement patterns of animals and humans. Here, we study the problem of Lévy noise-driven escape from an almost rectangular, arctangent potential well restricted by two absorbing boundaries, mostly under the action of the Cauchy noise. We unveil analogies of the observed transient dynamics to the general properties of stationary states of Lévy processes in single-well potentials. The first-escape dynamics is shown to exhibit exponential tails. We examine the dependence of the escape on the shape parameters, steepness, and height of the arctangent potential. Finally, we explore in detail the behavior of the probability densities of the first-escape time and the last-hitting point.

Nonlinear friction in underdamped anharmonic stochastic oscillators.

Non-equilibrium stationary states of overdamped anharmonic stochastic oscillators driven by Lévy noise are typically multimodal. The very same situation is recorded for an underdamped Lévy noise-driven motion in single-well potentials with linear friction. Within the current article, we relax the assumption that the friction experienced by a particle is linear. Using computer simulations, we study underdamped motions in single-well potentials in the regime of nonlinear friction. We demonstrate that it is relatively easy to observe multimodality in the velocity distribution as it is determined by the friction itself and it is the same as the multimodality in the overdamped case with the analogous deterministic force. Contrary to the velocity marginal density, it is more difficult to induce multimodality in the position. Nevertheless, for a fine-tuned nonlinear friction, the spatial multimodality can be recorded.

Peculiarities of escape kinetics in the presence of athermal noises.

Stochastic evolution of various dynamic systems and reaction networks is commonly described in terms of noise assisted escape of an overdamped particle from a potential well, as devised by the paradigmatic Langevin equation in which additive Gaussian stochastic force reproduces effects of thermal fluctuations from the reservoir. When implemented for systems close to equilibrium, the approach correctly explains the emergence of the Boltzmann distribution for the ensemble of trajectories generated by the Langevin equation and relates the intensity of the noise strength to the mobility. This scenario can be further generalized to include effects of non-Gaussian, burstlike forcing modeled by Lévy noise. In this case, however, the pulsatile additive noise cannot be treated as the internal (thermal) since the relation between the strength of the friction and variance of the noise is violated. Heavy tails of Lévy noise distributions not only facilitate escape kinetics, but also, more importantly, change the escape protocol by altering the final stationary state to a non-Boltzmann, nonequilibrium form. As a result, contrary to the kinetics induced by a Gaussian white noise, escape rates in environments with Lévy noise are determined not by the barrier height, but instead by the barrier width. We further discuss consequences of simultaneous action of thermal and Lévy noises on statistics of passage times and population of reactants in double-well potentials.

Stationary states for underdamped anharmonic oscillators driven by Cauchy noise.

Using numerical methods, we have studied stationary states in the underdamped anharmonic stochastic oscillators driven by Cauchy noise. The shape of stationary states depends on both the potential type and the damping. If the damping is strong enough, for potential wells which in the overdamped regime produce multimodal stationary states, stationary states in the underdamped regime can be multimodal with the same number of modes like in the overdamped regime. For the parabolic potential, the stationary density is always unimodal, and it is given by the two dimensional α-stable density. For the mixture of quartic and parabolic single-well potentials, the stationary density can be bimodal. Nevertheless, the parabolic addition, which is strong enough, can destroy the bimodality of the stationary state.

Multimodal stationary states under Cauchy noise.

A Lévy noise is an efficient description of out-of-equilibrium systems. The presence of Lévy flights results in a plenitude of noise-induced phenomena. Among others, Lévy flights can produce stationary states with more than one modal value in single-well potentials. Here we explore stationary states in special double-well potentials demonstrating that a sufficiently high potential barrier separating potential wells can produce bimodal stationary states in each potential well. Furthermore, we explore how the decrease in the barrier height affects the multimodality of stationary states. Finally, we explore the role of multimodality of stationary states on noise-induced escape over the static potential barrier.