Anomalous diffusion in viscosity landscapes

Abstract

Anomalous diffusion of Brownian particles in inhomogeneous viscosity landscapes is predicted by means of scaling arguments, which are substantiated through numerical simulations. Analytical solutions of the related Fokker-Planck equation in limiting cases confirm our results. In the case of an ensemble of particles starting at a spatial minimum (maximum) of the viscous daming, we find subdiffusive (superdiffusive) motion. Superdiffusion also occurs in the case of a monotonically varying viscosity profile. We suggest different systems for related experimental investigations. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.