Collective dynamics effect transient subdiffusion of inert tracers in flexible gel networks
- 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.
Author details: | Aljaz Godec, Maximilian Bauer, Ralf MetzlerORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/9/092002 |
ISSN: | 1367-2630 |
Title of parent work (English): | New journal of physics : the open-access journal for physics |
Publisher: | IOP Publ. Ltd. |
Place of publishing: | Bristol |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2014 |
Publication year: | 2014 |
Release date: | 2017/03/27 |
Tag: | anomalous diffusion; gel network; van Hove correlation |
Volume: | 16 |
Number of pages: | 13 |
Funding institution: | Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship; Academy of Finland (FiDiPro scheme); German Ministry for Education and Research |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |