We consider the problem of computing first-passage time distributions for reaction processes modelled by master equations. We show that this generally intractable class of problems is equivalent to a sequential Bayesian inference problem for an auxiliary observation process. The solution can be approximated efficiently by solving a closed set of coupled ordinary differential equations (for the low-order moments of the process) whose size scales with the number of species. We apply it to an epidemic model and a trimerisation process, and show good agreement with stochastic simulations.
We investigate the first-passage dynamics of symmetric and asymmetric Levy flights in a semi-infinite and bounded intervals. By solving the space-fractional diffusion equation, we analyse the fractional-order moments of the first-passage time probability density function for different values of the index of stability and the skewness parameter. A comparison with results using the Langevin approach to Levy flights is presented. For the semi-infinite domain, in certain special cases analytic results are derived explicitly, and in bounded intervals a general analytical expression for the mean first-passage time of Levy flights with arbitrary skewness is presented. These results are complemented with extensive numerical analyses.
We study the extremal properties of a stochastic process $x_t$ defined by a Langevin equation $dot{x}_t=sqrt{2 D_0 V(B_t)},xi_t$, where $xi_t$ is a Gaussian white noise with zero mean, $D_0$ is a constant scale factor, and $V(B_t)$ is a stochastic diffusivity (noise strength), which itself is a functional of independent Brownian motion $B_t$. We derive exact, compact expressions for the probability density functions (PDFs) of the first passage time (FPT) $t$ from a fixed location $x_0$ to the origin for three different realisations of the stochastic diffusivity: a cut-off case $V(B_t) =Theta(B_t)$ (Model I), where $Theta(x)$ is the Heaviside theta function; a Geometric Brownian Motion $V(B_t)=exp(B_t)$ (Model II); and a case with $V(B_t)=B_t^2$ (Model III). We realise that, rather surprisingly, the FPT PDF has exactly the Levy-Smirnov form (specific for standard Brownian motion) for Model II, which concurrently exhibits a strongly anomalous diffusion. For Models I and III either the left or right tails (or both) have a different functional dependence on time as compared to the Levy-Smirnov density. In all cases, the PDFs are broad such that already the first moment does not exist. Similar results are obtained in three dimensions for the FPT PDF to an absorbing spherical target.
In neuroscience, the distribution of a decision time is modelled by means of a one-dimensional Fokker--Planck equation with time-dependent boundaries and space-time-dependent drift. Efficient approximation of the solution to this equation is required, e.g., for model evaluation and parameter fitting. However, the prescribed boundary conditions lead to a strong singularity and thus to slow convergence of numerical approximations. In this article we demonstrate that the solution can be related to the solution of a parabolic PDE on a rectangular space-time domain with homogeneous initial and boundary conditions by transformation and subtraction of a known function. We verify that the solution of the new PDE is indeed more regular than the solution of the original PDE and proceed to discretize the new PDE using a space-time minimal residual method. We also demonstrate that the solution depends analytically on the parameters determining the boundaries as well as the drift. This justifies the use of a sparse tensor product interpolation method to approximate the PDE solution for various parameter ranges. The predicted convergence rates of the minimal residual method and that of the interpolation method are supported by numerical simulations.
In this short note, a correction is made to the recently proposed solution [1] to a 1D biased diffusion model for linear DNA translocation and a new analysis will be given to the data in [1]. It was pointed out [2] by us recently that this 1D linear translocation model is equivalent to the one that was considered by Schrodinger [3] for the Enrenhaft-Millikan measurements [4,5] on electron charge. Here we apply Schrodingers first-passage-time distribution formula to the data set in [1]. It is found that Schrodingers formula can be used to describe the time distribution of DNA translocation in solid-state nanopores. These fittings yield two useful parameters: drift velocity of DNA translocation and diffusion constant of DNA inside the nanopore. The results suggest two regimes of DNA translocation: (I) at low voltages, there are clear deviations from Smoluchowskis linear law of electrophoresis [6] which we attribute to the entropic barrier effects; (II) at high voltages, the translocation velocity is a linear function of the applied electric field. In regime II, the apparent diffusion constant exhibits a quadratic dependence on applied electric field, suggesting a mechanism of Taylor dispersion effect likely due the electro-osmotic flow field in the nanopore channel. This analysis yields a dispersion-free diffusion constant value for the segment of DNA inside the nanopore which is in agreement with Stokes-Einstein theory quantitatively. The implication of Schrodingers formula for DNA sequencing is discussed.
Levy Flights are paradigmatic generalised random walk processes, in which the independent stationary increments---the jump lengths---are drawn from an $alpha$-stable jump length distribution with long-tailed, power-law asymptote. As a result, the variance of Levy Flights diverges and the trajectory is characterised by occasional extremely long jumps. Such long jumps significantly decrease the probability to revisit previous points of visitation, rendering Levy Flights efficient search processes in one and two dimensions. To further quantify their precise property as random search strategies we here study the first-passage time properties of Levy Flights in one-dimensional semi-infinite and bounded domains for symmetric and asymmetric jump length distributions. To obtain the full probability density function of first-passage times for these cases we employ two complementary methods. One approach is based on the space-fractional diffusion equation for the probability density function, from which the survival probability is obtained for different values of the stable index $alpha$ and the skewness (asymmetry) parameter $beta$. The other approach is based on the stochastic Langevin equation with $alpha$-stable driving noise. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages for explicit calculations and numerical evaluation, and the complementary approach involving both methods will be profitable for concrete applications. We also make use of the Skorokhod theorem for processes with independent increments and demonstrate that the numerical results are in good agreement with the analytical expressions for the probability density function of the first-passage times.