title: Communication: Dominance of extreme statistics in a prototype many-body Brownian ratchet.
abstract: Many forms of cell motility rely on Brownian ratchet mechanisms that involve multiple stochastic processes. We present a computational and theoretical study of the nonequilibrium statistical dynamics of such a many-body ratchet, in the specific form of a growing polymer gel that pushes a diffusing obstacle. We find that oft-neglected correlations among constituent filaments impact steady-state kinetics and significantly deplete the gel's density within molecular distances of its leading edge. These behaviors are captured quantitatively by a self-consistent theory for extreme fluctuations in filaments' spatial distribution.
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hohlfeld
authors.affiliation: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Phillip L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Geissler
mesh_terms: D002465:Cell Movement; D004058:Diffusion; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D058105:Polymerization; D013269:Stochastic Processes