Abstract
We present analytic results for mean capture time and energy expended by a pack of deterministic hounds actively chasing a randomly diffusing prey. Depending on the number of chasers, the mean capture time as a function of the prey’s diffusion coefficient can be monotonically increasing, decreasing, or attain a minimum at a finite value. Optimal speed and number of chasing hounds exist and depend on each chaser’s baseline power consumption. The model can serve as an analytically tractable basis for further studies with bearing on the growing field of smart microswimmers and autonomous robots.
- Received 13 October 2021
- Accepted 24 December 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.040601
© 2022 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
synopsis
Chasing an Unpredictable Quarry
Published 26 January 2022
Researchers explore the effects of random motion in a pursuit problem in which hounds chase a hare.
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