Abstract
Random walk in a one-dimensional random medium of length is analyzed. It is rigorously shown that in most realizations of the medium, the mean first-passage time, , bears the following relation to , for large . The average of over the realizations of the medium, , satisfies . Our formalism, though being exact, employs only elementary means and makes transparent the physics of the delay experienced by the random walker: It is due to the existence of subsegments in which the bias against motion towards the desired end is largest. Some implications of these results concerning the replica method are briefly discussed.
- Received 9 February 1988
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.500
©1988 American Physical Society