@article{GodecMetzler2015,
  author    = {Godec, Aljaz and Metzler, Ralf},
  title     = {Optimization and universality of Brownian search in a basic model of quenched heterogeneous media},
  series = {Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics},
  volume    = {91},
  journal   = {Physical review : E, Statistical, nonlinear and soft matter physics},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {American Physical Society},
  address   = {College Park},
  issn      = {1539-3755},
  doi       = {10.1103/PhysRevE.91.052134},
  pages     = {17},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {The kinetics of a variety of transport-controlled processes can be reduced to the problem of determining the mean time needed to arrive at a given location for the first time, the so-called mean first-passage time ( MFPT) problem. The occurrence of occasional large jumps or intermittent patterns combining various types of motion are known to outperform the standard random walk with respect to the MFPT, by reducing oversampling of space. Here we show that a regular but spatially heterogeneous random walk can significantly and universally enhance the search in any spatial dimension. In a generic minimal model we consider a spherically symmetric system comprising two concentric regions with piecewise constant diffusivity. The MFPT is analyzed under the constraint of conserved average dynamics, that is, the spatially averaged diffusivity is kept constant. Our analytical calculations and extensive numerical simulations demonstrate the existence of an optimal heterogeneity minimizing the MFPT to the target. We prove that the MFPT for a random walk is completely dominated by what we term direct trajectories towards the target and reveal a remarkable universality of the spatially heterogeneous search with respect to target size and system dimensionality. In contrast to intermittent strategies, which are most profitable in low spatial dimensions, the spatially inhomogeneous search performs best in higher dimensions. Discussing our results alongside recent experiments on single-particle tracking in living cells, we argue that the observed spatial heterogeneity may be beneficial for cellular signaling processes.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KruesemannGodecMetzler2015,
  author    = {Kr{\"u}semann, Henning and Godec, Aljaz and Metzler, Ralf},
  title     = {Ageing first passage time density in continuous time random walks and quenched energy landscapes},
  series = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical},
  volume    = {48},
  journal   = {Journal of physics : A, Mathematical and theoretical},
  number    = {28},
  publisher = {IOP Publ. Ltd.},
  address   = {Bristol},
  issn      = {1751-8113},
  doi       = {10.1088/1751-8113/48/28/285001},
  pages     = {20},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {We study the first passage dynamics of an ageing stochastic process in the continuous time random walk (CTRW) framework. In such CTRW processes the test particle performs a random walk, in which successive steps are separated by random waiting times distributed in terms of the waiting time probability density function Psi (t) similar or equal to t(-1-alpha) (0 <= alpha <= 2). An ageing stochastic process is defined by the explicit dependence of its dynamic quantities on the ageing time t(a), the time elapsed between its preparation and the start of the observation. Subdiffusive ageing CTRWs with 0 < alpha < 1 describe systems such as charge carriers in amorphous semiconducters, tracer dispersion in geological and biological systems, or the dynamics of blinking quantum dots. We derive the exact forms of the first passage time density for an ageing subdiffusive CTRW in the semi-infinite, confined, and biased case, finding different scaling regimes for weakly, intermediately, and strongly aged systems: these regimes, with different scaling laws, are also found when the scaling exponent is in the range 1 < alpha < 2, for sufficiently long ta. We compare our results with the ageing motion of a test particle in a quenched energy landscape. We test our theoretical results in the quenched landscape against simulations: only when the bias is strong enough, the correlations from returning to previously visited sites become insignificant and the results approach the ageing CTRW results. With small bias or without bias, the ageing effects disappear and a change in the exponent compared to the case of a completely annealed landscape can be found, reflecting the build-up of correlations in the quenched landscape.},
  language  = {en}
}