Discrete kinetic models for molecular motors: asymptotic velocity and gaussian fluctuations

We consider random walks on quasi one dimensional lattices, as introduced in \cite{FS}. This mathematical setting covers a large class of discrete kinetic models for non-cooperative molecular motors on periodic tracks. We derive general formulas for the asymptotic velocity and diffusion coefficient, and we show how to reduce their computation to suitable linear systems of the same degree of a single fundamental cell, with possible linear chain removals. We apply the above results to special families of kinetic models, also catching some errors in the biophysics literature.