Calculation of the mean first passage time tested on simple two-dimensional models

A particle diffusing in a two-dimensional (2D) container, shaped as a simplified configuration space of two passing 2D circular particles in a flat channel, is considered. The mean first passage time through one absorbing boundary is calculated using the one-dimensional Fick-Jacobs equation and its modification; both derived by mapping the 2D diffusion equation onto the longitudinal (reaction) coordinate. The obtained results are compared with the hopping time, defined as the inverted lowest eigenvalue of the full 2D problem. The comparison shows that the mapped equations give reliable results, in contrast to predictions of the simplest concept of the transition state theory. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.