Probability distributions for the run-and-tumble models with variable speed and tumbling rate

Abstract

In this paper we consider a telegraph equation with time-dependent coefficients, governing the persistent random walk of a particle moving on the line with a time-varying velocity $c(t)$ and changing direction at instants distributed according to a non-stationary Poisson distribution with rate $\lambda (t)$. We show that, under suitable assumptions, we are able to find the exact form of the probability distribution. We also consider the space-fractional counterpart of this model, finding the characteristic function of the related process. A conclusive discussion is devoted to the potential applications to run-and-tumble models.

Keywords

• Telegraph equation with time-dependent velocity
• run-and-tumble models
• exact marginal probability distribution