Journal of Statistical Physics, Vol. 36, Nos. 5/6, 1984. p. 561-577.
We investigate the trapping of a random walker in fractal structures (Sierpinski gaskets) with randomly distributed traps. The survival probability is determined from the number of distinct sites visited in the trap-free fractals. We show that the short-time behavior and the long-time tails of the survival probability are governed by the spectral dimension d. We interpolate between these two limits by introducing a scaling law. An extension of the theory, which includes a continuous-time random walk on fractals, is discussed as well as the case of direct trapping. The latter case is shown to be governed by the fractal dimension d.