Large fluctuations in diffusion-controlled absorption

Abstract: Suppose that

N_{0}

independently diffusing particles, each with diffusivity

D

, are initially released at

x = e l l > 0

on the semi-infinite interval

0 l e q x < i n f t y

with an absorber at

x = 0

. We determine the probability

c a l P (N)

that

N

particles survive until time

t = T

. We also employ macroscopic fluctuation theory to find the most likely history of the system, conditional on there being exactly

N

survivors at time

t = T

. Depending on the basic parameter

e l l / s q r t 4 D T

, very different histories can contribute to the extreme cases of

N = N_{0}

(all particles survive) and

N = 0

(no survivors). For large values of

e l l / s q r t 4 D T

, the leading contribution to

c a l P (N = 0)

comes from an effective point-like quasiparticle that contains all the

N_{0}

particles and moves ballistically toward the absorber until absorption occurs.

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