Non-Debye relaxations: The characteristic exponent in the excess wings model

TL;DR

This paper explores the mathematical characterization of non-Debye relaxation phenomena using characteristic exponents, illustrating the approach with the excess wings model and its evolution equations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework linking memory functions in relaxation equations to characteristic exponents, highlighting their twin structure via Sonine pairs.

Findings

Derived evolution equations for the excess wings model

Identified the twin structure of memory functions as Sonine pairs

Discussed properties of solutions in non-Debye relaxation models

Abstract

The characteristic (Laplace or L\'evy) exponents uniquely characterize infinitely divisible probability distributions. Although of purely mathematical origin they appear to be uniquely associated with the memory functions present in evolution equations which govern the course of such physical phenomena like non-Debye relaxations or anomalous diffusion. Commonly accepted procedure to mimic memory effects is to make basic equations time smeared, i.e., nonlocal in time. This is modeled either through the convolution of memory functions with those describing relaxation/diffusion or, alternatively, through the time smearing of time derivatives. Intuitive expectations say that such introduced time smearings should be physically equivalent. This leads to the conclusion that both kinds of so far introduced memory functions form a "twin" structure familiar to mathematicians for a long time and known as the Sonine pair. As an illustration of the proposed scheme we consider the excess wings model of non-Debye relaxations, determine its evolution equations and discuss properties of the solutions.