String theory as a diffusing system

Recent results on the effective non-local dynamics of the tachyon mode of open string field theory (OSFT) show that approximate solutions can be constructed which obey the diffusion equation. We argue that this structure is inherited from the full theory, where it admits a universal formulation. In fact, all known exact OSFT solutions are superpositions of diffusing surface states. In particular, the diffusion equation is a spacetime manifestation of OSFT gauge symmetries.