Ratchet Effect in Surface Electromigration: Smoothing Surfaces by an ac Field

We demonstrate that for surfaces that have a nonzero Schwoebel barrier the application of an ac field parallel to the surface induces a net electro- migration current that points in the descending step direction. The magnitude of the current is calculated analytically and compared with Monte Carlo simulations. Since a downhill current smoothes the surface, our results imply that the application of ac fields can aid the smoothing process during annealing and can slow or eliminate the Schwoebel-barrier-induced mound formation during growth.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 4 ps figure

Reducing vortex density in superconductors using the ratchet effect

A serious obstacle that impedes the application of low and high temperature superconductor (SC) devices is the presence of trapped flux. Flux lines or vortices are induced by fields as small as the Earth's magnetic field. Once present, vortices dissipate energy and generate internal noise, limiting the operation of numerous superconducting devices. Methods used to overcome this difficulty include the pinning of vortices by the incorporation of impurities and defects, the construction of flux dams, slots and holes and magnetic shields which block the penetration of new flux lines in the bulk of the SC or reduce the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the superconducting device. Naturally, the most desirable would be to remove the vortices from the bulk of the SC. There is no known phenomenon, however, that could form the basis for such a process. Here we show that the application of an ac current to a SC that is patterned with an asymmetric pinning potential can induce vortex motion whose direction is determined only by the asymmetry of the pattern. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon is the so called ratchet effect, and its working principle applies to both low and high temperature SCs. As a first step here we demonstrate that with an appropriate choice of the pinning potential the ratchet effect can be used to remove vortices from low temperature SCs in the parameter range required for various applications.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Nature (in press

Feynman's ratchet and pawl: an exactly solvable model

We introduce a simple, discrete model of Feynman's ratchet and pawl, operating between two heat reservoirs. We solve exactly for the steady-state directed motion and heat flows produced, first in the absence and then in the presence of an external load. We show that the model can act both as a heat engine and as a refrigerator. We finally investigate the behavior of the system near equilibrium, and use our model to confirm general predictions based on linear response theory.Comment: 19 pages + 10 figures; somewhat tighter presentatio

Stokes' Drift of linear Defects

A linear defect, viz. an elastic string, diffusing on a planar substrate traversed by a travelling wave experiences a drag known as Stokes' drift. In the limit of an infinitely long string, such a mechanism is shown to be characterized by a sharp threshold that depends on the wave parameters, the string damping constant and the substrate temperature. Moreover, the onset of the Stokes' drift is signaled by an excess diffusion of the string center of mass, while the dispersion of the drifting string around its center of mass may grow anomalous.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, to be published in Phys.Rev.

Disorder Induced Diffusive Transport In Ratchets

The effects of quenched disorder on the overdamped motion of a driven particle on a periodic, asymmetric potential is studied. While for the unperturbed potential the transport is due to a regular drift, the quenched disorder induces a significant additional chaotic ``diffusive'' motion. The spatio-temporal evolution of the statistical ensemble is well described by a Gaussian distribution, implying a chaotic transport in the presence of quenched disorder.Comment: 10 pages, 4 EPS figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

Reliability of fluctuation-induced transport in a Maxwell-demon-type engine

We study the transport properties of an overdamped Brownian particle which is simultaneously in contact with two thermal baths. The first bath is modeled by an additive thermal noise at temperature $T_A$. The second bath is associated with a multiplicative thermal noise at temperature $T_B$. The analytical expressions for the particle velocity and diffusion constant are derived for this system, and the reliability or coherence of transport is analyzed by means of their ratio in terms of a dimensionless P\'{e}clet number. We find that the transport is not very coherent, though one can get significantly higher currents.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Brownian motion exhibiting absolute negative mobility

We consider a single Brownian particle in a spatially symmetric, periodic system far from thermal equilibrium. This setup can be readily realized experimentally. Upon application of an external static force F, the average particle velocity is negative for F>0 and positive for F<0 (absolute negative mobility).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PR

Direct measurements of the effects of salt and surfactant on interaction forces between colloidal particles at water-oil interfaces

The forces between colloidal particles at a decane-water interface, in the presence of low concentrations of a monovalent salt (NaCl) and of the surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) in the aqueous subphase, have been studied using laser tweezers. In the absence of electrolyte and surfactant, particle interactions exhibit a long-range repulsion, yet the variation of the interaction for different particle pairs is found to be considerable. Averaging over several particle pairs was hence found to be necessary to obtain reliable assessment of the effects of salt and surfactant. It has previously been suggested that the repulsion is consistent with electrostatic interactions between a small number of dissociated charges in the oil phase, leading to a decay with distance to the power -4 and an absence of any effect of electrolyte concentration. However, the present work demonstrates that increasing the electrolyte concentration does yield, on average, a reduction of the magnitude of the interaction force with electrolyte concentration. This implies that charges on the water side also contribute significantly to the electrostatic interactions. An increase in the concentration of SDS leads to a similar decrease of the interaction force. Moreover the repulsion at fixed SDS concentrations decreases over longer times. Finally, measurements of three-body interactions provide insight into the anisotropic nature of the interactions. The unique time-dependent and anisotropic interactions between particles at the oil-water interface allow tailoring of the aggregation kinetics and structure of the suspension structure.Comment: Submitted to Langmui