@article{AwadMetzler2020, author = {Awad, Emad and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Crossover dynamics from superdiffusion to subdiffusion}, series = {Fractional calculus and applied analysis : an international journal for theory and applications}, volume = {23}, journal = {Fractional calculus and applied analysis : an international journal for theory and applications}, number = {1}, publisher = {De Gruyter}, address = {Berlin ; Boston}, issn = {1311-0454}, doi = {10.1515/fca-2020-0003}, pages = {55 -- 102}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The Cattaneo or telegrapher's equation describes the crossover from initial ballistic to normal diffusion. Here we study and survey time-fractional generalisations of this equation that are shown to produce the crossover of the mean squared displacement from superdiffusion to subdiffusion. Conditional solutions are derived in terms of Fox H-functions and the dth-order moments as well as the diffusive flux of the different models are derived. Moreover, the concept of the distribution-like is proposed as an alternative to the probability density function.}, language = {en} } @article{BauerGodecMetzler2014, author = {Bauer, Maximilian and Godec, Aljaž and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Diffusion of finite-size particles in two-dimensional channels with random wall configurations}, series = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : PCCP ; a journal of European chemical societies}, volume = {16}, journal = {Physical chemistry, chemical physics : PCCP ; a journal of European chemical societies}, number = {13}, publisher = {RSC Publications}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {1463-9084}, doi = {10.1039/C3CP55160A}, pages = {6118 -- 6128}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Diffusion of chemicals or tracer molecules through complex systems containing irregularly shaped channels is important in many applications. Most theoretical studies based on the famed Fick-Jacobs equation focus on the idealised case of infinitely small particles and reflecting boundaries. In this study we use numerical simulations to consider the transport of finite-size particles through asymmetrical two-dimensional channels. Additionally, we examine transient binding of the molecules to the channel walls by applying sticky boundary conditions. We consider an ensemble of particles diffusing in independent channels, which are characterised by common structural parameters. We compare our results for the long-time effective diffusion coefficient with a recent theoretical formula obtained by Dagdug and Pineda [J. Chem. Phys., 2012, 137, 024107].}, language = {en} } @article{BodrovaChechkinCherstvyetal.2015, author = {Bodrova, Anna S. and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Ultraslow scaled Brownian motion}, series = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, volume = {17}, journal = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1367-2630}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/17/6/063038}, pages = {16}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We define and study in detail utraslow scaled Brownian motion (USBM) characterized by a time dependent diffusion coefficient of the form D(t) similar or equal to 1/t. For unconfined motion the mean squared displacement (MSD) of USBM exhibits an ultraslow, logarithmic growth as function of time, in contrast to the conventional scaled Brownian motion. In a harmonic potential the MSD of USBM does not saturate but asymptotically decays inverse-proportionally to time, reflecting the highly non-stationary character of the process. We show that the process is weakly non-ergodic in the sense that the time averaged MSD does not converge to the regular MSD even at long times, and for unconfined motion combines a linear lag time dependence with a logarithmic term. The weakly non-ergodic behaviour is quantified in terms of the ergodicity breaking parameter. The USBM process is also shown to be ageing: observables of the system depend on the time gap between initiation of the test particle and start of the measurement of its motion. Our analytical results are shown to agree excellently with extensive computer simulations.}, language = {en} } @article{CherstvyChechkinMetzler2014, author = {Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Ageing and confinement in non-ergodic heterogeneous diffusion processes}, series = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, volume = {47}, journal = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, number = {48}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1751-8113}, doi = {10.1088/1751-8113/47/48/485002}, pages = {18}, year = {2014}, abstract = {We study the effects of ageing-the time delay between initiation of the physical process at t = 0 and start of observation at some time t(a) > 0-and spatial confinement on the properties of heterogeneous diffusion processes (HDPs) with deterministic power-law space-dependent diffusivities, D(x) = D-0 vertical bar x vertical bar(alpha). From analysis of the ensemble and time averaged mean squared displacements and the ergodicity breaking parameter quantifying the inherent degree of irreproducibility of individual realizations of the HDP we obtain striking similarities to ageing subdiffusive continuous time random walks with scale-free waiting time distributions. We also explore how both processes can be distinguished. For confined HDPs we study the long-time saturation of the ensemble and time averaged particle displacements as well as the magnitude of the inherent scatter of time averaged displacements and contrast the outcomes to the results known for other anomalous diffusion processes under confinement.}, language = {en} } @article{CherstvySafdariMetzler2021, author = {Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Safdari, Hadiseh and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Anomalous diffusion, nonergodicity, and ageing for exponentially and logarithmically time-dependent diffusivity}, series = {Journal of physics. D, Applied physics}, volume = {54}, journal = {Journal of physics. D, Applied physics}, number = {19}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {0022-3727}, doi = {10.1088/1361-6463/abdff0}, pages = {18}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We investigate a diffusion process with a time-dependent diffusion coefficient, both exponentially increasing and decreasing in time, D(t)=D-0(e +/- 2 alpha t). For this (hypothetical) nonstationary diffusion process we compute-both analytically and from extensive stochastic simulations-the behavior of the ensemble- and time-averaged mean-squared displacements (MSDs) of the particles, both in the over- and underdamped limits. Simple asymptotic relations derived for the short- and long-time behaviors are shown to be in excellent agreement with the results of simulations. The diffusive characteristics in the presence of ageing are also considered, with dramatic differences of the over- versus underdamped regime. Our results for D(t)=D-0(e +/- 2 alpha t) extend and generalize the class of diffusive systems obeying scaled Brownian motion featuring a power-law-like variation of the diffusivity with time, D(t) similar to t(alpha-1). We also examine the logarithmically increasing diffusivity, D(t)=D(0)log[t/tau(0)], as another fundamental functional dependence (in addition to the power-law and exponential) and as an example of diffusivity slowly varying in time. One of the main conclusions is that the behavior of the massive particles is predominantly ergodic, while weak ergodicity breaking is repeatedly found for the time-dependent diffusion of the massless particles at short times. The latter manifests itself in the nonequivalence of the (both nonaged and aged) MSD and the mean time-averaged MSD. The current findings are potentially applicable to a class of physical systems out of thermal equilibrium where a rapid increase or decrease of the particles' diffusivity is inherently realized. One biological system potentially featuring all three types of time-dependent diffusion (power-law-like, exponential, and logarithmic) is water diffusion in the brain tissues, as we thoroughly discuss in the end.}, language = {en} } @article{GhoshCherstvyGrebenkovetal.2016, author = {Ghosh, Surya K. and Cherstvy, Andrey G. and Grebenkov, Denis S. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Anomalous, non-Gaussian tracer diffusion in crowded two-dimensional environments}, series = {NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS}, volume = {18}, journal = {NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1367-2630}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/18/1/013027}, pages = {16}, year = {2016}, abstract = {A topic of intense current investigation pursues the question of how the highly crowded environment of biological cells affects the dynamic properties of passively diffusing particles. Motivated by recent experiments we report results of extensive simulations of the motion of a finite sized tracer particle in a heterogeneously crowded environment made up of quenched distributions of monodisperse crowders of varying sizes in finite circular two-dimensional domains. For given spatial distributions of monodisperse crowders we demonstrate how anomalous diffusion with strongly non-Gaussian features arises in this model system. We investigate both biologically relevant situations of particles released either at the surface of an inner domain or at the outer boundary, exhibiting distinctly different features of the observed anomalous diffusion for heterogeneous distributions of crowders. Specifically we reveal an asymmetric spreading of tracers even at moderate crowding. In addition to the mean squared displacement (MSD) and local diffusion exponent we investigate the magnitude and the amplitude scatter of the time averaged MSD of individual tracer trajectories, the non-Gaussianity parameter, and the van Hove correlation function. We also quantify how the average tracer diffusivity varies with the position in the domain with a heterogeneous radial distribution of crowders and examine the behaviour of the survival probability and the dynamics of the tracer survival probability. Inter alia, the systems we investigate are related to the passive transport of lipid molecules and proteins in two-dimensional crowded membranes or the motion in colloidal solutions or emulsions in effectively two-dimensional geometries, as well as inside supercrowded, surface adhered cells.}, language = {en} } @article{GodecBauerMetzler2014, author = {Godec, Aljaz and Bauer, Maximilian and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Collective dynamics effect transient subdiffusion of inert tracers in flexible gel networks}, series = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, volume = {16}, journal = {New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1367-2630}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/16/9/092002}, pages = {13}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Based on extensive Brownian dynamics simulations we study the thermal motion of a tracer bead in a cross-linked, flexible gel in the limit when the tracer particle size is comparable to or even larger than the equilibrium mesh size of the gel. The analysis of long individual trajectories of the tracer demonstrates the existence of pronounced transient anomalous diffusion. From the time averaged mean squared displacement and the time averaged van Hove correlation functions we elucidate the many-body origin of the non-Brownian tracer bead dynamics. Our results shed new light onto the ongoing debate over the physical origin of steric tracer interactions with structured environments.}, language = {en} } @article{GodecChechkinBarkaietal.2014, author = {Godec, Aljaz and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Barkai, Eli and Kantz, Holger and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Localisation and universal fluctuations in ultraslow diffusion processes}, series = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, volume = {47}, journal = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, number = {49}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1751-8113}, doi = {10.1088/1751-8113/47/49/492002}, pages = {10}, year = {2014}, abstract = {We study ultraslow diffusion processes with logarithmic mean squared displacement (MSD) < x(2)(t)> similar or equal to log(gamma)t. Comparison of annealed (renewal) continuous time random walks (CTRWs) with logarithmic waiting time distribution psi(tau) similar or equal to 1/(tau log(1+gamma)tau) and Sinai diffusion in quenched random landscapes reveals striking similarities, despite the great differences in their physical nature. In particular, they exhibit a weakly non-ergodic disparity of the time-averaged and ensemble-averaged MSDs. Remarkably, for the CTRW we observe that the fluctuations of time averages become universal, with an exponential suppression of mobile trajectories. We discuss the fundamental connection between the Golosov localization effect and non-ergodicity in the sense of the disparity between ensemble-averaged MSD and time-averaged MSD.}, language = {en} } @article{GuggenbergerChechkinMetzler2021, author = {Guggenberger, Tobias and Chechkin, Aleksei V. and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Fractional Brownian motion in superharmonic potentials and non-Boltzmann stationary distributions}, series = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, volume = {54}, journal = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical}, number = {29}, publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1751-8113}, doi = {10.1088/1751-8121/ac019b}, pages = {17}, year = {2021}, abstract = {We study the stochastic motion of particles driven by long-range correlated fractional Gaussian noise (FGN) in a superharmonic external potential of the form U(x) proportional to x(2n) (n is an element of N). When the noise is considered to be external, the resulting overdamped motion is described by the non-Markovian Langevin equation for fractional Brownian motion. For this case we show the existence of long time, stationary probability density functions (PDFs) the shape of which strongly deviates from the naively expected Boltzmann PDF in the confining potential U(x). We analyse in detail the temporal approach to stationarity as well as the shape of the non-Boltzmann stationary PDF. A typical characteristic is that subdiffusive, antipersistent (with negative autocorrelation) motion tends to effect an accumulation of probability close to the origin as compared to the corresponding Boltzmann distribution while the opposite trend occurs for superdiffusive (persistent) motion. For this latter case this leads to distinct bimodal shapes of the PDF. This property is compared to a similar phenomenon observed for Markovian Levy flights in superharmonic potentials. We also demonstrate that the motion encoded in the fractional Langevin equation driven by FGN always relaxes to the Boltzmann distribution, as in this case the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is fulfilled.}, language = {en} } @article{GuggenbergerPagniniVojtaetal.2019, author = {Guggenberger, Tobias and Pagnini, Gianni and Vojta, Thomas and Metzler, Ralf}, title = {Fractional Brownian motion in a finite interval}, series = {New Journal of Physics}, volume = {21}, journal = {New Journal of Physics}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft ; IOP, Institute of Physics}, address = {Bad Honnef und London}, issn = {1367-2630}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/ab075f}, pages = {13}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Fractional Brownian motion (FBM) is a Gaussian stochastic process with stationary, long-time correlated increments and is frequently used to model anomalous diffusion processes. We study numerically FBM confined to a finite interval with reflecting boundary conditions. The probability density function of this reflected FBM at long times converges to a stationary distribution showing distinct deviations from the fully flat distribution of amplitude 1/L in an interval of length L found for reflected normal Brownian motion. While for superdiffusion, corresponding to a mean squared displacement (MSD) 〈X² (t)〉 ⋍ tᵅ with 1 < α < 2, the probability density function is lowered in the centre of the interval and rises towards the boundaries, for subdiffusion (0 < α < 1) this behaviour is reversed and the particle density is depleted close to the boundaries. The MSD in these cases at long times converges to a stationary value, which is, remarkably, monotonically increasing with the anomalous diffusion exponent α. Our a priori surprising results may have interesting consequences for the application of FBM for processes such as molecule or tracer diffusion in the confines of living biological cells or organelles, or other viscoelastic environments such as dense liquids in microfluidic chambers.}, language = {en} }