Symmetric and asymmetric random walks on a segment (−∞,T>0) of the real line are considered. There is a non-zero probability for the random walk to get absorbed at a site it visits. We derive for such random walks, expressions for survival probabilities in the asymptotic limit ofT→∞. An application of this asymptotic formulation to the problem of radiation transport through thick shields is presented.

We investigate the dynamics of the number of particles diffusing in a multiplicative medium. We show that the typical behaviour of the growth process is different from the average. We develop a new formalism to study the average growth process and extend it to the calculation of higher moments and finally of the probability distribution. We show that the fluctuations of the growth process increase exponentially with time. We describe the interesting features of the distribution.

Asymptotic behaviour of the moments of the first passage time (FPT) on a one-dimensional lattice holding a multifurcating hierarchy of teeth is studied. There is a transition from ordinary to anomalous diffusion when the parameter controlling the relative sizes of the teeth, is varied with respect to the furcating number of the hierarchy. The scaling behaviour of the moments of FPT with the linear dimensions of the lattice segment indicates that in the anomalcus phase the probability density of the FPT is multifractal.