Brownian Motion at Interfaces - Experimental and Theoretical Studies

Explore the intricacies of Brownian motion near interfaces in this 40-minute talk by Thomas Salez, presented at the Workshop on "Transport Properties in Soft Matter Systems" at the Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics. Delve into the study of thermally-induced random tridimensional trajectories of individual microparticles in salty aqueous solutions near rigid walls and in the presence of surface charges. Examine the construction of time-dependent position and displacement probability density functions, and investigate the non-Gaussian character of hindered mobility near walls. Learn about a robust multifitting method for thermal-noise-limited inference of spatially resolved diffusion coefficients at the nanoscale, equilibrium potentials, and forces at femtonewton resolution. Conclude by discussing more complex scenarios involving soft boundaries, external flows, and active microswimmers, bridging fundamental biophysics with nanoscale engineering applications.