Relaxation rates of the nonequilibrium concentration and flow of a substance in a medium with sink and arbitrary space-varying diffusion coefficient

We determine the relaxation rates of the stationary nonequilibrium concentration and flow of a substance in a medium with sink and arbitrary space-varying diffusion coefficient. We used the method proposed previously by the author to find the temporal characteristics of nonstationary diffusion in a one-dimensional medium. It is shown that the flow inside the medium relaxes to the steady state faster than the concentration. Some specific examples are analyzed. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol.42, No.6, pp. 581–589, June 1999.