Fickian yet non-Gaussian diffusion in two-dimensional Yukawa liquids

We investigate Fickian diffusion in two-dimensional (2D) Yukawa liquids using molecular dynamics simulations. We compute the self-van Hove correlation function $G_s(r,t)$, and the self-intermediate scattering function $F_s(k,t)$ and compare these functions with those obtained from mean-squared displacement MSD using the Gaussian approximation. According to this approximation, a linear MSD with time implies a Gaussian behavior for $G_s(r,t)$ and $F_s(k,t)$ at all times. Surprisingly, we find that these functions deviate from Gaussian at intermediate time scales, indicating the failure of the Gaussian approximation. Furthermore, we quantify these deviations by the non-Gaussian parameter, and we find that the deviations increase with decreasing the temperature of the liquid. The origin of the non-Gaussian behavior may be the heterogeneous dynamics of dust particles observed in 2D Yukawa liquids.