Perturbation spreading in many-particle systems: a random walk approach

V. Zaburdaev; S. Denisov; P. Hanggi

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.180601

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arXiv · 1101.1839

Perturbation spreading in many-particle systems: a random walk approach

V. Zaburdaev·S. Denisov·P. Hanggi

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Abstract

The propagation of an initially localized perturbation via an interacting many-particle Hamiltonian dynamics is investigated. We argue that the propagation of the perturbation can be captured by the use of a continuous-time random walk where a single particle is traveling through an active, fluctuating medium. Employing two archetype ergodic many-particle systems, namely (i) a hard-point gas composed of two unequal masses and (ii) a Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain we demonstrate that the corresponding perturbation profiles coincide with the diffusion profiles of the single-particle Lévy walk approach. The parameters of the random walk can be related through elementary algebraic expressions to the physical parameters of the corresponding test many-body systems.

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BibTeX RIS

V. Zaburdaev, S. Denisov, P. Hanggi. 2011-05-05. Perturbation spreading in many-particle systems: a random walk approach. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.106.180601

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