6533b851fe1ef96bd12a9a8a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Diffusion of colloids in one-dimensional light channels

Paul LeidererClemens BechingerChristoph LutzChristoph LutzMarkus Kollmann

subject

ChemistryCondensed Matter PhysicsMean squared displacementColloidClassical mechanicsOptical tweezersSquare rootChemical physicsNormal diffusionParticleGeneral Materials Scienceddc:530Diffusion (business)Particle density

description

Single-file diffusion (SFD), prevalent in many chemical and biological processes, refers to the one-dimensional motion of interacting particles in pores which are so narrow that the mutual passage of particles is excluded. Since the sequence of particles in such a situation remains unaffected over time t, this leads to strong deviations from normal diffusion, e.g. an increase of the particle mean-square-displacement as the square root of t. We present experimental results of the diffusive behaviour of colloidal particles in one-dimensional channels with varying particle density. The channels are realized by means of a scanning optical tweezers. Based on a new analytical approach (Kollmann 2003 Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 180602) for SFD, we can predict quantitatively the long-time, diffusive behaviour from the short time density fluctuations in our systems.

10.1088/0953-8984/16/38/022