1 research outputs found
Motion in a rocked ratchet with spatially periodic friction
We present a detailed study of the transport and energetics of a Brownian
particle moving in a periodic potential in the presence of an adiabatic
external periodic drive. The particle is considered to move in a medium with
periodic space dependent friction with the same periodicity as that of the
potential but with a phase lag. We obtain several results, most of them arising
due to the medium being inhomogeneous and are sensitive to the phase lag. When
the potential is symmetric we show that efficiency of energy transduction can
be maximised as a function of noise strength or temperature. However, in the
case of asymmtertic potential the temperature may or may not facilitate the
energy conversion but current reversals can be obtained as a function of
temperature and the amplitude of the periodic drive. The reentrant behaviour of
current can also be seen as a function of phase lag