Packets of Diffusing Particles Exhibit Universal Exponential Tails

Explore a comprehensive lecture on the universal exponential tails exhibited by packets of diffusing particles. Delve into the extension of large deviations approach for continuous time random walks, uncovering general universal behavior in the decay of particle density. Examine how fluctuations in the number of steps performed by random walkers at finite time lead to exponential decay with logarithmic corrections in the positional probability density function. Investigate the applicability of this universal behavior to short time scales, making experimental observations more accessible. Learn about the Hitchhiker model, which provides a microscopic description of the observed behavior in terms of aggregation processes, leading to molecule size distribution and spatial exponential decay of spreading particles. Gain insights into how this phenomenon applies to various situations, including glasses, live cells, and bacteria suspensions, challenging the traditional Gaussian process description of Brownian motion.

Eli Barkai - Packets of diffusing particles exhibit universal exponential tails