Test of the diffusing-diffusivity mechanism using near-wall colloidal dynamics

Abstract

The diffusing-diffusivity mechanism proposed by Chubynsky and Slater [PRL 113, 098302, 2014] predicts that, in environments where the diffusivity changes gradually, the displacement distribution becomes non-Gaussian, even though the mean-squared displacement (MSD) grows linearly with time. Here, we report single-particle tracking measurements of the diffusion of colloidal spheres near a planar wall. Because the local effective diffusivity is known, we have been able to carry out the first direct test of this mechanism for diffusion in inhomogeneous media.

This paper has been withdrawn by the author because of crucial calibration errors