Geometry-Induced Superdiffusion in Driven Crowded Systems

Olivier Bénichou, Anna Bodrova, Dipanjan Chakraborty, Pierre Illien, Adam Law, Carlos Mejía-Monasterio, Gleb Oshanin, and Raphaël Voituriez
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 260601 – Published 26 December 2013
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Recent molecular dynamics simulations of glass-forming liquids revealed superdiffusive fluctuations associated with the position of a tracer particle (TP) driven by an external force. Such an anomalous response, whose mechanism remains elusive, has been observed up to now only in systems close to their glass transition, suggesting that this could be one of its hallmarks. Here, we show that the presence of superdiffusion is in actual fact much more general, provided that the system is crowded and geometrically confined. We present and solve analytically a minimal model consisting of a driven TP in a dense, crowded medium in which the motion of particles is mediated by the diffusion of packing defects, called vacancies. For such nonglass-forming systems, our analysis predicts a long-lived superdiffusion which ultimately crosses over to giant diffusive behavior. We find that this trait is present in confined geometries, for example long capillaries and stripes, and emerges as a universal response of crowded environments to an external force. These findings are confirmed by numerical simulations of systems as varied as lattice gases, dense liquids, and granular fluids.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 30 October 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.260601

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Olivier Bénichou1,*, Anna Bodrova2, Dipanjan Chakraborty3, Pierre Illien1,*, Adam Law3, Carlos Mejía-Monasterio4, Gleb Oshanin1, and Raphaël Voituriez1,5

  • 1Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée (UMR CNRS 7600), Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, 75255 Paris Cedex, France
  • 2Department of Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russia
  • 3Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme, Heisenbergstr. 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany, and IV Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
  • 4Laboratory of Physical Properties, Technical University of Madrid, Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain, and Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 68, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland
  • 5Laboratoire Jean Perrin, FRE 3231 CNRS/UPMC, 4 Place Jussieu, 75255 Paris Cedex, France

  • *Corresponding author.

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 111, Iss. 26 — 27 December 2013

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×