Single file diffusion meets Feynman path integral

TL;DR

This paper uses a path-integral approach to analyze single-file diffusion in interacting Brownian particles, providing a new formula for mean-square displacement and exploring effects of temperature near crystallization.

Contribution

It introduces a path-integral formalism for single-file diffusion, offering analytical results and perturbation analysis beyond traditional Langevin methods.

Findings

Excellent agreement with Langevin simulations for harmonic chain model

Derived a formula for mean-square displacement over all time scales

Analyzed temperature effects near crystallization using perturbation theory

Abstract

The path-integral representation of Smoluchowski equation is exploited to explore the stochastic dynamics of a tagged Brownian particle within an interacting system where hydrodynamic effects are neglected. In particular, this formalism is applied to a particle system confined to a one-dimensional infinite line aiming to investigate the single-file diffusion phenomenon in this scenario. In particular, the path-integral method is contrasted against the standard many-particle Langevin equation for a system of interacting Brownian particles in a harmonic chain model, exhibiting excellent agreement; in this case of study a formula defined on the whole time-scale for the mean-square displacement, in the thermodynamic limit, is found for the tracer particle in terms of Bessel functions, recovering also the single-file regime. Additionally, a Brownian particle system with paramagnetic interactions is considered near crystallization where the total interaction potential is roughly a harmonic potential. Taking advantage of the path-integral formalism a simple perturbation treatment is carried out to investigate the single file diffusion behavior when temperature is increased away from the crystal phase.