Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion of a light particle in heavy gas: Lorentz gas based analysis

Abstract

Non-Gaussian diffusion was recently observed in a gas mixture with mass and fraction contrast [F. Nakai et al, Phys. Rev. E 107, 014605 (2023)]. The mean square displacement of a minor gas particle with a small mass is linear in time, while the displacement distribution deviates from the Gaussian distribution, which is called the Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion. In this work, we theoretically analyze this case where the mass contrast is sufficiently large. Major heavy particles can be interpreted as immobile obstacles, and a minor light particle behaves like a Lorentz gas particle within an intermediate time scale. Despite the similarity between the gas mixture and the conventional Lorentz gas system, the Lorentz gas description cannot fully describe the Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion. A successful description can be achieved through an ensemble average of the statistical quantities of the Lorentz gas over the initial speed.