Intrinsic and extrinsic measurement for Brownian motion

Based upon the Smoluchowski equation on curved manifolds, three physical observables are considered for Brownian displacement, namely geodesic displacement s, Euclidean displacement delta R, and projected displacement delta R-perpendicular to. The Weingarten-Gauss equations are used to calculate the mean-square Euclidean displacements in the short-time regime. Our findings show that from an extrinsic point of view the geometry of the space affects the Brownian motion in such a way that the particle's diffusion is decelerated, contrasting with the intrinsic point of view where dynamics is controlled by the sign of the Gaussian curvature (Castro-Villarreal, 2010 J. Stat. Mech. P08006). Furthermore, it is possible to give exact formulas for <delta R > and <delta R-2 > on spheres and minimal surfaces, which are valid for all values of time. In the latter case, surprisingly, Brownian motion corresponds to the usual diffusion in flat geometries, albeit minimal surfaces have non-zero Gaussian curvature. Finally, the two-dimensional case is emphasized due to its close relation to surface self-diffusion in fluid membranes.