Velocity distribution and diffusion of an athermal inertial run-and-tumble particle in a shear-thickening medium
Phys. Rev. E 112, 025403 – Published 4 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/sy7f-7mn4
Abstract
We study the dynamics of an athermal inertial run-and-tumble particle moving in a shear-thickening medium in . The viscosity of the medium is represented by a nonlinear function , while a symmetric dichotomous noise of strength and flipping rate models the activity of the particle. Starting from the Fokker-Planck (FP) equation for the time-dependent probability distribution of the particle's velocity at time and the active force is , we analytically derive the steady-state velocity distribution function and a quadrature expression for the effective diffusion coefficient . For a fixed , undergoes multiple transitions with varying , and we have identified the corresponding transition points. We then numerically compute , the mean-squared velocity , and the diffusion coefficient , all of which show excellent agreement with the analytical results in the steady state. Finally, we test the robustness of the transitions in by considering an alternative function that also captures the shear-thickening behavior of the medium.