Recent experiments have revealed intriguing patterns in particle diffusion, suggesting an underlying complexity that physicists have yet to fully understand. In a new analysis published in The European Physical Journal B, Adrian Pacheco-Pozo and Igor Sokolov at Humboldt University of Berlin demonstrate how this behavior arises from strong correlations between the positions of diffusing particles traveling along similar paths.
Diffusion typically occurs through random fluctuations in particle positions, known as Brownian motion. However, in some cases, the distribution of particle positions can exhibit a sharp peak at its center, contrary to the expected smoothing out over time.
This behavior is reminiscent of theoretical models with varying diffusion rates between localized regions. In their study, Pacheco-Pozo and Sokolov investigated this persistent peak by examining the mathematics of ‘continuous-time random walk’ models, which revealed strong correlations between the displacements of jumping particles following similar trajectories.
While the continuous-time random walk model did not fully match the shape of the sharp peak, it highlighted the importance of more complex time-varying connections between particles. This paves the way for further investigation in future studies.
2024-01-19 11:00:04
Link from phys.org