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 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 and a relation derived by Kollmann.

Starting from a generalized elastic model which accounts for the stochastic motion of several physical systems such as membranes, (semi)flexible polymers, and fluctuating interfaces among others, we derive the fractional Langevin equation (FLE) for a probe particle in such systems, in the case of thermal initial conditions. We show that this FLE is the only one fulfilling the fluctuation-dissipation relation within a new family of fractional Brownian motion equations. The FLE for the time-dependent fluctuations of the donor-acceptor distance in a protein is shown to be recovered. When the system starts from nonthermal conditions, the corresponding FLE, which does not fulfill the fluctuation-dissipation relation, is derived.

An assembly of “nonpassing” particles diffusing on a one-dimensional periodic substrate is shown to undergo single-file diffusion for both noiseless (ballistic) and stochastic dynamics. The dependence of the corresponding diffusion coefficients on the density and temperature of the particles and on the substrate parameters is determined by means of numerical simulations and analytically interpreted within the formalism of standard Brownian motion.

The term single file (SF) dynamics refers to the motion of an assembly of particles through a channel with cross-sections comparable to the particles' diameter. Single file diffusion (SFD) is then the diffusion of a tagged particle in a single file, i.e., under the condition that particle passing is not allowed. SFD accounts for a large variety of processes in nature, including diffusion of colloids in synthetic and natural channels, biological motors along molecular chains, electrons in proteins and liquid helium, ions through membranes, just to mention a few examples. Albeit introduced in 1965s, over the last decade the classical notion of SF dynamics has been generalised to account for a more realistic modelling of the particle properties, file geometry, particle-particle and channel-particle interactions, which paves the way to remarkable applications of the SF model, for instance, in the technology of bio-integrated nanodevices. We provide here a comprehensive review of the recent advances in the theory of SF dynamics with the purpose of spurring further experimental work.

We introduce a stochastic equation for the microscopic motion of a tagged particle in the single-file model. This equation provides a compact representation of several of the system’s properties such as fluctuation-dissipation and linear-response relations, achieved by means of a diffusion noise approach. Most importantly, the proposed Langevin equation reproduces quantitatively the three temporal regimes and the corresponding time scales: ballistic, diffusive, and subdiffusive.