Sommaire:

How long does it take a "searcher" to reach a "target" for the first time? This first-passage time is a key quantity for evaluating the kinetics of various processes, and in particular chemical reactions involving "small" numbers of particles. A striking example is given by gene transcription, where specific proteins search for target sequences on DNA. I will present asymptotic results which enable the evaluation of the distribution of the first-passage time to a target site for a wide range of random processes in confined domains. This approach quantifies explicitly the amplitude of fluctuations of the first-passage time and reveals its general dependence on the geometry of the problem, which can become a key parameter that controls the kinetics. I will show how these results apply to reactions involving « small" numbers of particles, and highlight their implications in transcription kinetics.

Pour plus d'informations, merci de contacter Parmeggiani A.