We consider stochastic systems involving general -- non-Gaussian and asymmetric -- stable processes. The random quantities, either a stochastic force or a waiting time in a random walk process, explicitly depend on the position. A fractional diffusion equation corresponding to a master equation for a jumping process with a variable jumping rate is solved in a diffusion limit. It is demonstrated that for some model parameters the equation is satisfied in that limit by the stable process with the same asymptotics as the driving noise. The Langevin equation containing a multiplicative noise, depending on the position as a power-law, is solved; the existing moments are evaluated. The motion appears subdiffusive and the transport depends on the asymmetry parameter: it is fastest for the symmetric case. A special case of the one-sided distribution is discussed.
The fractional Fokker-Planck equation, which contains a variable diffusion coefficient, is discussed and solved. It corresponds to the Lévy flights in a nonhomogeneous medium. For the case with the linear drift, the solution is stationary in the long-time limit and it represents the Lévy process with a simple scaling. The solution for the drift term in the form $λ\hbox{sgn}(x)$ possesses two different scales which correspond to the Lévy indexes $μ$ and $μ+1$ $(μ<1)$. The former component of the solution prevails at large distances but it diminishes with time for a given $x$. The fractional mom…
We study the diffusion equation with a position-dependent, power-law diffusion coefficient. The equation possesses the Riesz-Weyl fractional operator and includes a memory kernel. It is solved in the diffusion limit of small wave numbers. Two kernels are considered in detail: the exponential kernel, for which the problem resolves itself to the telegrapher's equation, and the power-law one. The resulting distributions have the form of the Lévy process for any kernel. The renormalized fractional moment is introduced to compare different cases with respect to the diffusion properties of the syste…
The Lévy walk process with rests is discussed. The jumping time is governed by an $α$-stable distribution with $α>1$ while a waiting time distribution is Poissonian and involves a position-dependent rate which reflects a nonhomogeneous trap distribution. The master equation is derived and solved in the asymptotic limit for a power-law form of the jumping rate. The relative density of resting and flying particles appears time-dependent and the asymptotic form of both distribution obey a stretched-exponential shape at large time. The diffusion properties are discussed and it is demonstrated that…
The Lévy, jumping process, defined in terms of the jumping size distribution and the waiting time distribution, is considered. The jumping rate depends on the process value. The fractional diffusion equation, which contains the variable diffusion coefficient, is solved in the diffusion limit. That solution resolves itself to the stretched Gaussian when the order parameter $μ\to2$. The truncation of the Lévy flights, in the exponential and power-law form, is introduced and the corresponding random walk process is simulated by the Monte Carlo method. The stretched Gaussian tails are found in bot…
Levy flights and subdiffusive processes and their properties are discussed. We derive the space- and time-fractional transport equations, and consider their solutions in external potentials. An extensive list of references is included.
We obtain the first passage time density for a Lévy flight random process from a subordination scheme. By this method, we infer the asymptotic behavior directly from the Brownian solution and the Sparre Andersen theorem, avoiding explicit reference to the fractional diffusion equation. Our results corroborate recent findings for Markovian Lévy flights and generalize to broad waiting times.
We study the statistics of encounters of Lévy flights by introducing the concept of vicious Lévy flights - distinct groups of walkers performing independent Lévy flights with the process terminating upon the first encounter between walkers of different groups. We show that the probability that the process survives up to time $t$ decays as $t^{-α}$ at late times. We compute $α$ up to the second order in $ε$-expansion, where $ε=σ-d$, $σ$ is the Lévy exponent and $d$ is the spatial dimension. For $d=σ$, we find the exponent of the logarithmic decay exactly. Theoretical values of the exponents are…
We generalise the Langevin equation with Gaussian white noise by replacing the velocity term by a local fractional derivative. The solution of this equation is a Levy process. We further consider the Brownian motion of a fractal particle, for example, a colloidal aggregate or a biological molecule and argue that it leads to a Levy flight. This effect can also be described using the local fractional Langevin equation. The implications of this development to other complex data series are discussed.
We consider the A + A --> emptyset reaction, where the transport of the particles is given by Levy flights in a quenched random potential. With a common literature model of the disorder, the random potential can only increase the rate of reaction. With a model of the disorder that obeys detailed balance, however, the rate of reaction initially increases and then decreases as a function of the disorder strength. The physical behavior obtained with this second model is in accord with that for reactive turbulent flow, indicating that Levy flight statistics can model aspects of turbulent fluid tra…
After a short excursion from discovery of Brownian motion to the Richardson "law of four thirds" in turbulent diffusion, the article introduces the Lévy flight superdiffusion as a self-similar Lévy process. The condition of self-similarity converts the infinitely divisible characteristic function of the Lévy process into a stable characteristic function of the Lévy motion. The Lévy motion generalizes the Brownian motion on the base of the $α$-stable distributions theory and fractional order derivatives. The further development of the idea lies on the generalization of the Langevin equation wit…
We explore the statistical behavior of the order statistics of the flights of One-sided Levy Processes (OLPs). We begin with the study of the extreme flights of general OLPs,and then focus on the class of selfsimilar processes,investigating the following issues:(i)the inner hierarchy of the extreme flights - for example:how big is the 7th largest flight relative to the 2nd largest one?; and,(ii)the relative contribution of the extreme flights to the entire 'flight aggregate' - for example: how big is the 3rd largest flight relative to the OLP's value?. Furthermore, we show that all 'hierarchic…
The functional method to derive the fractional Fokker-Planck equation for probability distribution from the Langevin equation with Levy stable noise is proposed. For the Cauchy stable noise we obtain the exact stationary probability density function of Levy flights in different smooth potential profiles. We find confinement of the particle in the superdiffusion motion with a bimodal stationary distribution for all the anharmonic symmetric monostable potentials investigated. The stationary probability density functions show power-law tails, which ensure finiteness of the variance. By reviewing …
By using the backward fractional Fokker-Planck equation we investigate the barrier crossing event in the presence of Levy noise. After shortly review recent results obtained with different approaches on the time characteristics of the barrier crossing, we derive a general differential equation useful to calculate the nonlinear relaxation time. We obtain analytically the nonlinear relaxation time for free Levy flights and a closed expression in quadrature of the same characteristics for cubic potential.
Numerical evidence of directed transport driven by symmetric Levy noise in time-independent ratchet potentials in the absence of an external tilting force is presented. The results are based on the numerical solution of the fractional Fokker-Planck equation in a periodic potential and the corresponding Langevin equation with Levy noise. The Levy noise drives the system out of thermodynamic equilibrium and an up-hill net current is generated. For small values of the noise intensity there is an optimal value of the Levy noise index yielding the maximum current. The direction and magnitude of the…
We consider the time evolution of two-dimensional Levy flights in a finite area with periodic boundary conditions. From simulations we show that the fractal path dimension d_f and thus the degree of area coverage grows in time until it reaches the saturation value d_f=2 at sufficiently long times. We also investigate the time evolution of the probability density function and associated moments in these boundary conditions. Finally we consider the mean first passage time as function of the stable index. Our findings are of interest to assess the ergodic behavior of Levy flights, to estimate the…
Let L(t) be a Levy flights process with a stability index α\in(0,2), and U be an external multi-well potential. A jump-diffusion Z satisfying a stochastic differential equation dZ(t)=-U'(Z(t-))dt+σ(t)dL(t) describes an evolution of a Levy particle of an `instant temperature' σ(t) in an external force field. The temperature is supposed to decrease polynomially fast, i.e. σ(t)\approx t^{-θ} for some θ>0. We discover two different cooling regimes. If θ<1/α(slow cooling), the jump diffusion Z(t) has a non-trivial limiting distribution as t\to \infty, which is concentrated at the potential's local …
The Levy-flight dynamics can stem from simple random walks in a system whose operational time (number of steps n) typically grows superlinearly with physical time t. Thus, this processes is a kind of continuous-time random walks (CTRW), dual to usual Scher-Montroll model, in which $n$ grows sublinearly with t. The models in which Levy-flights emerge due to a temporal subordination let easily discuss the response of a random walker to a weak outer force, which is shown to be nonlinear. On the other hand, the relaxation of en ensemble of such walkers in a harmonic potential follows a simple expo…
The stochastic motion in a nonhomogeneous medium with traps is studied and diffusion properties of that system are discussed. The particle is subjected to a stochastic stimulation obeying a general Lévy stable statistics and experiences long rests due to traps the density of which depends on the position. The memory is taken into account by subordination of that process to a random time; then the subordination equation is position-dependent. The problem is approximated by means of a decoupling of the trap geometry and memory and exactly solved for a power-law trap density, corresponding to a f…
Diffusion in nonhomogeneous media is described by a dynamical process driven by a general Levy noise and subordinated to a random time; the subordinator depends on the position. This problem is approximated by a multiplicative process subordinated to a random time: it separately takes into account effects related to the medium structure and the memory. Density distributions and moments are derived from the solutions of the corresponding Langevin equation and compared with the numerical calculations for the exact problem. Both subdiffusion and enhanced diffusion are predicted. Distribution of t…
We consider different generalizations of the Fokker-Planck-equation devised to describe Levy processes in potential force fields. We show that such generalizations can proceed along different lines. On one hand, Levy statistics can emerge from the fractal temporal nature of the underlying process, i.e. a high variability in the rate of microscopic events. On the other hand, they may be a direct consequence of the scale-free spatial structure on which the process evolves. Although both forms considered lead to Boltzmann equilibrium, the relaxation patterns are quite different. As an example, ge…
We study the probability distribution function (pdf) of the position of a Lévy flight of index 0<α<2 in presence of an absorbing wall at the origin. The solution of the associated fractional Fokker-Planck equation can be constructed using a perturbation scheme around the Brownian solution (corresponding to α= 2), as an expansion in ε= 2 - α. We obtain an explicit analytical solution, exact at the first order in ε, which allows us to conjecture the precise asymptotic behavior of this pdf, including the first subleading corrections, for any α. Careful numerical simulations, as well as an exact c…
We study the photoluminescence spectra excited at an edge side of n-InP slabs and observed from the broadside. In a moderately doped sample the intensity drops off as a power-law function of the distance from the excitation - up to several millimeters - with no change in the spectral shape.The hole distribution is described by a stationary Levy-flight process over more than two orders of magnitude in both the distance and hole concentration. For heavily-doped samples, the power law is truncated by free-carrier absorption. Our experiments are near-perfectly described by the Biberman-Holstein tr…
We consider a system of particles undergoing the branching and annihilating reactions A -> (m+1)A and A + A -> 0, with m even. The particles move via long-range Levy flights, where the probability of moving a distance r decays as r^{-d-sigma}. We analyze this system of branching and annihilating Levy flights (BALF) using field theoretic renormalization group techniques close to the upper critical dimension d_c=sigma, with sigma<2. These results are then compared with Monte-Carlo simulations in d=1. For sigma close to unity in d=1, the critical point for the transition from an absorbing to an a…
The escape from a given domain is one of the fundamental problems in statistical physics and the theory of stochastic processes. Here, we explore properties of the escape of an inertial particle driven by Lévy noise from a bounded domain, restricted by two absorbing boundaries.Presence of two absorbing boundaries assures that the escape process can be characterized by the finite mean first passage time. The detailed analysis of escape kinetics shows that properties of the mean first passage time for the integrated Ornstein--Uhlenbeck process driven by Lévy noise are closely related to properti…
The non-Markovian stochastic dynamics involving Levy flights and a potential in the form of a harmonic and non-linear oscillator is discussed. The subordination technique is applied and the memory effects, which are nonhomogeneous, are taken into account by a position-dependent subordinator. In the non-linear case, the asymptotic stationary states are found. The relaxation pattern to the stationary state is derived for the quadratic potential: the density decays like a linear combination of the Mittag-Leffler functions. It is demonstrated that in the latter case the density distribution satisf…
Levy flights are known to be optimal search strategies in the particular case of revisitable targets. In the relevant situation of non revisitable targets, we propose an alternative model of bidimensional search processes, which explicitly relies on the widely observed intermittent behavior of foraging animals. We show analytically that intermittent strategies can minimize the search time, and therefore do constitute real optimal strategies. We study two representative modes of target detection, and determine which features of the search time are robust and do not depend on the specific charac…
We solve a problem of non-convex stochastic optimisation with help of simulated annealing of Levy flights of a variable stability index. The search of the ground state of an unknown potential is non-local due to big jumps of the Levy flights process. The convergence to the ground state is fast due to a polynomial decrease rate of the temperature.
Truncated Lévy flights are random walks in which the arbitrarily large steps of a Lévy flight are eliminated. Since this makes the variance finite, the central limit theorem applies, and as time increases the probability distribution of the increments becomes Gaussian. Here, truncated Lévy flights with correlated fluctuations of the variance (heteroskedasticity) are considered. What makes these processes interesting is the fact that the crossover to the Gaussian regime may occur for times considerably larger than for uncorrelated (or no) variance fluctuations. These processes may find direct a…
Intriguing phenomena such as subrecoil laser cooling of atoms, or aging phenomenon in glasses, have in common that the systems considered do not reach a steady-state during the experiments, although the experimental time scales are very large compared to the microscopic ones. We revisit some standard models describing these phenomena, and reformulate them in a unified framework in terms of lifetimes of the microscopic states of the system. A universal dynamical mechanism emerges, leading to a generic time-dependent distribution of lifetimes, independently of the physical situation considered.
Multi-scaling properties of one-dimensional truncated Levy flights are studied. Due to the broken self-similarity of the distribution of jumps, they are expected to possess multi-scaling properties in contrast to the ordinary Levy flights. We argue this fact based on a smoothly truncated Levy distribution, and derive the functional form of the scaling exponents. Specifically, they exhibit bi-fractal behavior, which is the simplest case of multi-scaling.
We analyze two-dimensional (2D) random systems driven by a symmetric Lévy stable noise which, under the sole influence of external (force) potentials $Φ(x) $, asymptotically set down at Boltzmann-type thermal equilibria. Such behavior is excluded within standard ramifications of the Langevin approach to Lévy flights. In the present paper we address the response of Lévy noise not to an external conservative force field, but directly to its potential $Φ(x)$. We prescribe a priori the target pdf $ρ_*$ in the Boltzmann form $\sim \exp[- Φ(x)]$ and next select the Lévy noise of interest. Given suit…
We derive the generalized Fokker-Planck equation associated with a Langevin equation driven by arbitrary additive white noise. We apply our result to study the distribution of symmetric and asymmetric Lévy flights in an infinitely deep potential well. The fractional Fokker-Planck equation for Lévy flights is derived and solved analytically in the steady state. It is shown that Lévy flights are distributed according to the beta distribution, whose probability density becomes singular at the boundaries of the well. The origin of the preferred concentration of flying objects near the boundaries i…
On the basis of multivariate Langevin processes we present a realization of Levy flights as a continuous process. For the simple case of a particle moving under the influence of friction and a velocity dependent stochastic force we explicitly derive the generalized Langevin equation and the corresponding generalized Fokker-Planck equation describing Levy flights. Our procedure is similar to the treatment of the Kramers-Fokker Planck equation in the Smoluchowski limit. The proposed approach forms a feasible way of tackling Levy flights in inhomogeneous media or systems with boundaries what is u…
The spectral theory of random walks on networks of arbitrary topology can be readily extended to study random walks and Lévy flights subject to resetting on these structures. When a discrete-time process is stochastically brought back from time to time to its starting node, the mean search time needed to reach another node of the network may be significantly decreased. In other cases, however, resetting is detrimental to search. Using the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the transition matrix defining the process without resetting, we derive a general criterion for finite networks that establis…
Lévy flights can be described using a Fokker-Planck equation which involves a fractional derivative operator in the position co-ordinate. Such an operator has its natural expression in the Fourier domain. Starting with this, we show that the solution of the equation can be written as a Hamiltonian path integral. Though this has been realized in the literature, the method has not found applications as the path integral appears difficult to evaluate. We show that a method in which one integrates over the position co-ordinates first, after which integration is performed over the momentum co-ordin…
We analyze a specific class of random systems that are driven by a symmetric Lévy stable noise, where Langevin representation is absent. In view of the Lévy noise sensitivity to environmental inhomogeneities, the pertinent random motion asymptotically sets down at the Boltzmann-type equilibrium, represented by a probability density function (pdf) $ρ_*(x) \sim \exp [-Φ(x)]$. Here, we infer pdf $ρ(x,t)$ based on numerical path-wise simulation of the underlying jump-type process. A priori given data are jump transition rates entering the master equation for $ρ(x,t)$ and its target pdf $ρ_*(x)$. T…
It is shown that statistics of records for time series generated by random walks are independent of the details of the jump distribution, as long as the latter is continuous and symmetric. In N steps, the mean of the record distribution grows as the sqrt(4N/pi) while the standard deviation grows as sqrt((2-4/pi) N), so the distribution is non-self-averaging. The mean shortest and longest duration records grow as sqrt(N/pi) and 0.626508... N, respectively. The case of a discrete random walker is also studied, and similar asymptotic behavior is found.
The random walk process in a nonhomogeneous medium, characterised by a Lévy stable distribution of jump length, is discussed. The width depends on a position: either before the jump or after that. In the latter case, the density slope is affected by the variable width and the variance may be finite; then all kinds of the anomalous diffusion are predicted. In the former case, only the time characteristics are sensitive to the variable width. %while the former case resolves itself to a problem with a variable jumping rate, The corresponding Langevin equation with different interpretations of the…
In these lecture notes I will discuss the universal first-passage properties of a simple correlated discrete-time sequence {x_0=0, x_1,x_2.... x_n} up to n steps where x_i represents the position at step i of a random walker hopping on a continuous line by drawing independently, at each time step, a random jump length from an arbitrary symmetric and continuous distribution (it includes, e.g., the Levy flights). I will focus on the statistics of two extreme observables associated with the sequence: (i) its global maximum and the time step at which the maximum occurs and (ii) the number of recor…
We investigate the impact of external periodic potentials on superdiffusive random walks known as Levy flights and show that even strongly superdiffusive transport is substantially affected by the external field. Unlike ordinary random walks, Levy flights are surprisingly sensitive to the shape of the potential while their asymptotic behavior ceases to depend on the Levy index $μ$. Our analysis is based on a novel generalization of the Fokker-Planck equation suitable for systems in thermal equilibrium. Thus, the results presented are applicable to the large class of situations in which superdi…
Optimal random foraging strategy has gained increasing concentrations. It is shown that Lévy flight is more efficient compared with the Brownian motion when the targets are sparse. However, standard Lévy flight generally cannot be followed in practice. In this paper, we assume that each flight of the forager is possibly interrupted by some uncertain factors, such as obstacles on the flight direction, natural enemies in the vision distance, and restrictions in the energy storage for each flight, and introduce the tempered Lévy distribution $p(l)\sim {\rm e}^{-ρl}l^{-μ}$. It is validated by both…
We consider a one-dimensional random walk (RW) with a continuous and symmetric jump distribution, $f(η)$, characterized by a Lévy index $μ\in (0,2]$, which includes standard random walks ($μ=2$) and Lévy flights ($0<μ<2$). We study the survival probability, $q(x_0,n)$, representing the probability that the RW stays non-negative up to step $n$, starting initially at $x_0 \geq 0$. Our main focus is on the $x_0$-dependence of $q(x_0,n)$ for large $n$. We show that $q(x_0,n)$ displays two distinct regimes as $x_0$ varies: (i) for $x_0= O(1)$ ("quantum regime"), the discreteness of the jump process…
We use random matrix theory to study the statistics of wave transport in one-dimensional random media with Levy disorder, in which waves perform Levy flights.
We analyze two different confining mechanisms for Lévy flights in the presence of external potentials. One of them is due to a conservative force in the corresponding Langevin equation. Another is implemented by Levy-Schroedinger semigroups which induce so-called topological Levy processes (Levy flights with locally modified jump rates in the master equation). Given a stationary probability function (pdf) associated with the Langevin-based fractional Fokker-Planck equation, we demonstrate that generically there exists a topological Lévy process with the very same invariant pdf and in the rever…
We study Markovian continuous-time random walk models for Lévy flights and we show an example in which the convergence to stable densities is not guaranteed when jumps follow a bi-modal power-law distribution that is equal to zero in zero. The significance of this result is two-fold: i) with regard to the probabilistic derivation of the fractional diffusion equation and also ii) with regard to the concept of site fidelity in the framework of Lévy-like motion for wild animals.
The problem of an arbitrary truncated Levy flight description using the method of cumulant approach has been solved. The set of cumulants of the truncated Levy distribution given the assumption of arbitrary truncation has been found. The influence of truncation shape on the truncated Levy flight properties in the Gaussian and the Levy regimes has been investigated.
We consider Levy flights subject to external force fields. This anomalous transport process is described by two approaches, a Langevin equation with Levy noise and the corresponding generalized Fokker-Planck equation containing a fractional derivative in space. The cases of free flights, constant force and linear Hookean force are analyzed in detail, and we corroborate our findings with results from numerical simulations. We discuss the non-Gibbsian character of the stationary solution for the case of the Hookean force, i.e. the deviation from Boltzmann equilibrium for long times. The possible…
Complex dynamical systems which are governed by anomalous diffusion often can be described by Langevin equations driven by Lévy stable noise. In this article we generalize nonlinear stochastic differential equations driven by Gaussian noise and generating signals with 1/f power spectral density by replacing the Gaussian noise with a more general Lévy stable noise. The equations with the Gaussian noise arise as a special case when the index of stability alpha=2. We expect that this generalization may be useful for describing 1/f fluctuations in the systems subjected to Lévy stable noise.
We investigated the relationships between search efficiency, movement strategy, and non-local communication in the biological context of animal foraging. We considered situations where the members of a population of foragers perform either Gaussian jumps or Levy flights, and show that the search time is minimized when communication among individuals occurs at intermediate ranges, independently of the type of movement. Additionally, while Brownian strategies are more strongly influenced by the communication mechanism, Levy flights still result in shorter overall search durations.
For both Levy flight and Levy walk search processes we analyse the full distribution of first-passage and first-hitting (or first-arrival) times. These are, respectively, the times when the particle moves across a point at some given distance from its initial position for the first time, or when it lands at a given point for the first time. For Levy motions with their propensity for long relocation events and thus the possibility to jump across a given point in space without actually hitting it ("leapovers"), these two definitions lead to significantly different results. We study the first-pas…
In the last ten years, the generalized central limit theorem established by Paul Levy in the thirties has been found more and more relevant in physics. Physicists call 'Levy flights' random walks for which the probability density of the jump lenghts $x$ decays as $1/x^{1+α}$ with $α<2$ for large $x$. We give here a glimpse of Levy flights in physics through two examples, without going into technical details. We first introduce a simple toy model, the Arrhenius cascade. We then present an important physical process, subrecoil laser cooling of atomic gases, in which Levy flights play an essentia…
We investigate the first-passage dynamics of symmetric and asymmetric Lévy flights in a semi-infinite and bounded intervals. By solving the space-fractional diffusion equation, we analyse the fractional-order moments of the first-passage time probability density function for different values of the index of stability and the skewness parameter. A comparison with results using the Langevin approach to Lévy flights is presented. For the semi-infinite domain, in certain special cases analytic results are derived explicitly, and in bounded intervals a general analytical expression for the mean fir…
Rock-paper-scissors (RPS) game is a nice model to study the biodiversity in ecosystem. However, the previous studies only consider the nearest- neighbor- interaction among the species. In this paper, taking the long range migration into account, the effects of the interplay between nearest-neighbor-interaction and long-range-interaction of Levy flight obey the power law distance distribution with the exponent h (-0.3<h<-0.1) in spatial RPS game is investigated. Taking the probability of long range Levy flight and the power exponent as parameters, the coexistence conditions of three species are…
