The lognormal-like statistics of a stochastic squeeze process

Abstract

We analyze the full statistics of a stochastic squeeze process. The model's two parameters are the bare stretching rate~$w$, and the angular diffusion coefficient~$D$. We carry out an exact analysis to determine the drift and the diffusion coefficient of $\log(r)$, where $r$ is the radial coordinate. The results go beyond the heuristic lognormal description that is implied by the central limit theorem. Contrary to the common "Quantum Zeno" approximation, the radial diffusion is not simply $D_r = (1/8)w^2/D$, but has a non-monotonic dependence on $w/D$. Furthermore, the calculation of the radial moments is dominated by the far non-Gaussian tails of the $\log(r)$ distribution.