Hancock Benjamin, Baskaran Aparna
Martin Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, USA.
Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2015 Nov;92(5):052143. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.052143. Epub 2015 Nov 30.
We consider the dynamics of self-propelled particles subject to external torques. Two models for the reorientation of self-propulsion are considered: run-and-tumble particles and active Brownian particles. Using the standard tools of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics we show that the run and tumble particles have a more robust response to torques. This macroscopic signature of the underlying reorientation statistics can be used to differentiate between the two types of self-propelled particles.