Diffusing Diffusivity: A Model for Anomalous, yet Brownian, Diffusion

Wang et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 15160 (2009) have found that in several systems the linear time dependence of the mean-square displacement (MSD) of diffusing colloidal particles, typical of normal diffusion, is accompanied by a non-Gaussian displacement distribution G(x,t), with roughly exponential tails at short times, a situation they termed “anomalous yet Brownian” diffusion. The diversity of systems in which this is observed calls for a generic model. We present such a model where there is diffusivity memory but no direction memory in the particle trajectory, and we show that it leads to both a linear MSD and a non-Gaussian G(x,t) at short times. In our model, the diffusivity is undergoing a (perhaps biased) random walk, hence the expression “diffusing diffusivity”. G(x,t) is predicted to be exactly exponential at short times if the distribution of diffusivities is itself exponential, but an exponential remains a good fit for a variety of diffusivity distributions. Moreover, our generic model can be modified to produce subdiffusion.