Foundation of Fractional Langevin Equation: Harmonization of a Many Body Problem

Ludvig Lizana, Tobias Ambjornsson, Alessandro Taloni, Eli Barkai, Michael A. Lomholt

Published 2009-09-04, updated 2010-04-28Version 2

In this study we derive a single-particle equation of motion, from first-principles, starting out with a microscopic description of a tracer particle in a one-dimensional many-particle system with a general two-body interaction potential. Using a new harmonization technique, we show that the resulting dynamical equation belongs to the class of fractional Langevin equations, a stochastic framework which has been proposed in a large body of works as a means of describing anomalous dynamics. Our work sheds light on the fundamental assumptions of these phenomenological models.