Active Particles Moving in Two-Dimensional Space with Constant Speed: Revisiting the Telegrapher's Equation

Abstract: Starting from a Langevin description of active particles that move with constant speed in infinite two-dimensional space and its corresponding Fokker-Planck equation, we develop a systematic method that allows us to obtain the coarse-grained probability density of finding a particle at a given location and at a given time to arbitrary short time regimes. By going beyond the diffusive limit, we derive a novel generalization of the telegrapher's equation. Such generalization preserves the hyperbolic structure of the equation and incorporates memory effects on the diffusive term. While no difference is observed for the mean square displacement computed from the two-dimensional telegrapher's equation and from our generalization, the kurtosis results into a sensible parameter that discriminates between both approximations. We carried out a comparative analysis in Fourier space that shed light on why the telegrapher's equation is not an appropriate model to describe the propagation of particles with constant speed in dispersive media.