Aging effects and population splitting in single-particle trajectory averages

Johannes H.P. Schulz, Eli Barkai, Ralf Metzler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

115 Scopus citations

Abstract

We study time averages of single particle trajectories in scale-free anomalous diffusion processes, in which the measurement starts at some time ta>0 after initiation of the process at t=0. Using aging renewal theory, we show that for such nonstationary processes a large class of observables are affected by a unique aging function, which is independent of boundary conditions or the external forces. Moreover, we discuss the implications of aging induced population splitting: with growing age t a of the process, an increasing fraction of particles remains motionless in a measurement of fixed duration. Consequences for single biomolecule tracking in live cells are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number020602
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume110
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 11 Jan 2013

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Aging effects and population splitting in single-particle trajectory averages'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this