Hamiltonian active particles in an environment

Abstract

We examine a Hamiltonian system which represents an active Brownian particle that can move against an external force by drawing energy from an internal depot while immersed in a noisy and dissipative environment. The Hamiltonian consists of two subsystems, one representing the active particle's motion and the other its depot of `fuel'. We show that although the active particle loses some of its energy to dissipation from the environment, dissipation can also help to stabilize the dynamical process that makes the particle active. Additionally we show how a Hamiltonian active particle can harvest energy from its environment.