Two-Dimensional Active Brownian Particles Crossing a Parabolic Barrier: Finite Rectangular Domain with Absorbing Boundary Conditions

Abstract

We solve the time-dependent Fokker-Planck equation for a two-dimensional active Brownian particle exploring a rectangular domain with absorbing boundary and in the presence of a parabolic barrier along one direction. By taking those of a passive Brownian particle as basis states and dealing with the activity as a perturbation, we provide a matrix representation of the Fokker-Planck operator and express the propagator in terms of the perturbed eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Our solution also allows us to obtain the survival probability and the first-passage-time distribution. The non-equilibrium character of the dynamics induces a strong dependence of the latter quantities on the particle's activity, while the rotational diffusivity influences them to a minor extent.