A Zoo of Slow Dynamics

It is quite intuitive that disorder causes things to slow down, but we will see

that different kinds of disorder exhibit different characteristics.

We start by discussing the most general definition of slow dynamics, namely

subdiffusion, where the mean squared displacement grows sublinearly with

time. In this context one analyzes the dynamics of an individual object slowed

down by its surrounding (static) environment. Different physical realities may

lead to subdiffusive behavior. The objective will be to determine

the relevant underlying physical reality from experimental data of singe

trajectories. To this end we present a set of tools, focusing on a test for

discerning between ergodic models. We will also consider the case of

subordinated models.

Next we discuss glasses, physical systems exhibiting collective slow

processes, which are due to the interaction with a disordered and dynamic

environment. Glassy behavior is ubiquitous and universal, exhibited also in

protein dynamics. We will specifically discuss the electron glass, presenting a

model that successfully explains memory effects demonstrated by 'two-dip'

experiments.