Related papers: Artificial Brownian motors: Controlling transport …
Diffusive transport of particles or, more generally, small objects is a ubiquitous feature of physical and chemical reaction systems. In configurations containing confining walls or constrictions transport is controlled both by the…
We analyze the diffusive transport of Brownian particles in narrow channels with periodically varying cross-section. The geometrical confinements lead to entropic barriers, the particle has to overcome in order to proceed in transport…
Nanomechanical photonic metamaterials provide a wealth of active switching, nonlinear and enhanced light-matter interaction functionalities by coupling optically and mechanically resonant subsystems. Thermal (Brownian) motion of the…
A molecular motor is made of either a single macromolecule or a macromolecular complex. Just like their macroscopic counterparts, molecular motors "transduce" input energy into mechanical work. All the nano-motors considered here operate…
The muscle contraction, operation of ATP synthase, maintaining the shape of a cell are believed to be secured by motor proteins, which can be modelled using the Brownian ratchet mechanism. We consider the randomly flashing ratchet model of…
The problem of Brownian motion in a periodic potential, under the influence of external forcing, which is either random or periodic in time, is studied in this paper. Multiscale techniques are used to derive general formulae for the steady…
Although the dynamics of colloids in the vicinity of a solid interface has been widely characterized in the past, experimental studies of Brownian diffusion close to an air-water interface are rare and limited to particle-interface gap…
Brownian dynamics of colloidal particles on complex surfaces has found important applications in diverse physical, chemical and biological processes. However, current Brownian dynamics simulation algorithms mostly work for relatively simple…
Living organisms have developed advanced motion strategies for efficient space exploration, serving as inspiration for the movements of microrobots. These real-life strategies often involve anomalous dynamics displaying random movement…
We numerically investigate the transport of a suspended overdamped Brownian particle which is driven through a two-dimensional rectangular array of circular obstacles with finite radius. Two limiting cases are considered in detail, namely,…
Combining experiments on active colloids, whose propulsion velocity can be controlled via a feedback loop, and theory of active Brownian motion, we explore the dynamics of an overdamped active particle with a motility that depends…
Brownian motion near soft surfaces is a situation widely encountered in nanoscale and biological physics. However, a complete theoretical description is lacking to date. Here, we theoretically investigate the dynamics of a two-dimensional…
The transport of interacting Brownian particles in a periodic asymmetric (ratchet) substrate is studied numerically. In a zero-temperature regime, the system behaves as a reversible step motor, undergoing multiple sign reversals of the…
In recent years, several artificial molecular motors driven and controlled by electric currents have been proposed. Similar to Brownian machines, these systems work by turning random inelastic tunneling events into a directional rotation of…
Brownian motors, i.e. devices able to produce useful work out of thermal forces with the help of other unbiased forces, provide an ideal benchmark for the investigation of quantum dissipative systems, for two reasons. First, the interaction…
We show that the correlated stochastic fluctuation of the friction coefficient can give rise to long-range directional motion of a particle undergoing Brownian random walk in a constant periodic energy potential landscape. The occurrence of…
Brownian motors, or ratchets, are devices which "rectify" Brownian motion, i.e. they can generate a current of particles out of unbiased fluctuations. The ratchet effect is a very general phenomenon which applies to a wide range of physical…
We study subdiffusive ratchet transport in periodically and randomly flashing potentials. Central Brownian particle is elastically coupled to surrounding auxiliary Brownian quasi-particles which account for the influence of viscoelastic…
We use a simple model of particle shape to investigate how particle asymmetry affects particle-surface interaction, orientation, and stochastic dynamics over a planar surface. With this geometric model, we construct potential energy curves…
We consider the collective motion of finite-sized, overdamped Brownian particles (e.g., motor proteins) in a periodic potential. Simulations of our model have revealed a number of novel cooperative transport phenomena, including (i) the…