Related papers: Confined Brownian ratchets
We analyze the rectified motion of a Brownian particle in a confined environment. We show the emergence of strong cooperativity between the inherent rectification of the ratchet mechanism and the entropic bias of the fluctuations caused by…
We analyze the performance of a Brownian ratchet in the presence of geometrical constraints. A two-state model that describes the kinetics of molecular motors is used to characterize the energetic cost when the motor proceeds under…
We discuss two-dimensional diffusion of a Brownian particle confined to a periodic asymmetric channel with soft walls modeled by a parabolic potential. In the channel, the particle experiences different noise intensities, or temperatures,…
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…
Directed transport of interacting active (self-propelled)Brownian particles is numerically investigated in confined geometries (entropic barriers). The self-propelled velocity can break thermodynamical equilibrium and induce the directed…
Biased diffusive transport of Brownian particles through irregularly shaped, narrow confining quasi-one-dimensional structures is investigated. The complexity of the higher dimensional diffusive dynamics is reduced by means of the so-called…
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…
A model of Brownian particles with the ability to take up energy from the environment, to store it in an internal depot, and to convert internal energy into kinetic energy of motion, is discussed. The general dynamics outlined in Sect. 2 is…
We investigate the dynamics of quantum particles in a ratchet potential subject to an ac force field. We develop a perturbative approach for weak ratchet potentials and force fields. Within this approach, we obtain an analytic description…
We consider the transport of rigid objects with internal structure in a flashing ratchet potential by investigating the overdamped behavior of a rod-like chain of evenly spaced point particles. In 1D, analytical arguments show that the…
We study the diffusive behavior of biased Brownian particles in a two dimensional confined geometry filled with the freezing obstacles. The transport properties of these particles are investigated for various values of the obstacles density…
We consider Brownian particles with the ability to take up energy from the environment, to store it in an internal depot, and to convert internal energy into kinetic energy of motion. Provided a supercritical supply of energy, these…
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…
Autonomous active Brownian ratchets rectify active Brownian particle motion solely by means of a spatially modulated but stationary activity, without external forces. We argue that such ratcheting requires at least a two-dimensional…
We give an overview over recent studies on the model of Active Brownian Motion (ABM) coupled to reservoirs providing free energy which may be converted into kinetic energy of motion. First, we present an introduction to a general concept of…
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 study biased, diffusive transport of Brownian particles through narrow, spatially periodic structures in which the motion is constrained in lateral directions. The problem is analyzed under the perspective of the Fick-Jacobs equation…
We demonstrate that confinement geometry can act as a rectifier in passive diffusion, optimally accelerating first-passage rates beyond free diffusion. Using analytic theory based on the Fick-Jacobs approach and Brownian dynamics…
We show the existence of a resonant behavior of the current of Brownian particles confined in a pulsating channel. The interplay between the periodic oscillations of the shape of the channel and a force applied along its axis leads to an…
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…