Related papers: A Granular Brownian Ratchet Model
We study the Brownian motion of a rigid rod threading through a small fixed ring while the ring can freely rotate. We derive the distribution function for the sliding displacement and the unit vector along the rod both at equilibrium and…
Two deterministic models for Brownian motion are investigated by means of numerical simulations and kinetic theory arguments. The first model consists of a heavy hard disk immersed in a rarefied gas of smaller and lighter hard disks acting…
Rotating equilibrated systems are widespread, but relatively little attention has been devoted to studying them from the first principles of statistical mechanics. We fill this gap by studying a Brownian particle coupled with a thermal bath…
A model has two main aims: predicting the behavior of a physical system and understanding its nature, that is how it works, at some desired level of abstraction. A promising recent approach to model building consists in deriving a…
A ratchet model for coupled Brownian motors, inspired by the motion of individual two-headed molecular motors on cytoskeletal filaments, is proposed. Such motors are modeled as two elastically coupled Brownian particles, each of which moves…
Bartussek, Hanggi and Kissner studied a rocking ratchet system, in which a Brownian particle is subject to an asymmetric periodic potential together with an oscillating force, and found that the direction of the macroscopic current can be…
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…
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 study the motion of an elastic object driven in a disordered environment in presence of both dissipation and inertia. We consider random forces with the statistics of random walks and reduce the problem to a single degree of freedom. It…
In the absence of environmental cues, a migrating cell performs an isotropic random motion. Recently, the breaking of this isotropy has been observed when cells move in the presence of asymmetric adhesive patterns. However, up to now the…
We investigate the motion of an inert (massive) particle being impinged from below by a particle performing (reflected) Brownian motion. The velocity of the inert particle increases in proportion to the local time of collisions and…
Brownian motion of free particles on curved surfaces is studied by means of the Langevin equation written in Riemann normal coordinates. In the diffusive regime we find the same physical behavior as the one described by the diffusion…
We consider $(n+1)$ bodies moving under their mutual gravitational attraction in spaces with constant Gaussian curvature $\kappa$. In this system, $n$ primary bodies with equal masses form a relative equilibrium solution with a regular…
We analyze the dynamics of Brownian ratchets in a confined environment. The motion of the particles is described by a Fick-Jakobs kinetic equation in which the presence of boundaries is modeled by means of an entropic potential. The cases…
A simple geometrical model is presented for the gravity-driven motion of a single particle on a rough inclined surface. Adopting a simple restitution law for the collisions between the particle and the surface, we arrive at a model in which…
We describe the dynamics of a stream of equally spaced macroscopic particles in orbit around a central body (e.g. a planet or star). A co-orbital configuration of small bodies may be subject to gravitational instability, which takes the…
We analyze the frictionless motion of a point-like particle that slides under gravity on an inverted conical surface. This motion is studied for arbitrary initial conditions and a general relation, valid within 13%, between the periods of…
Rolling of a small sphere on a solid support is governed by a non-linear friction that is akin to the Coulombic dry fiction. No motion occurs when the external field is weaker than the frictional resistance. However, with the intervention…
We consider a model of Non-Brownian self-propelled particles with anti-alignment interactions where particles try to avoid each other by attempting to turn into opposite directions. The particles undergo apparent Brownian motion, even…
Cats use the connection governing parallel transport in the space of shapes to land safely on their feet. Here we argue that this connection also explains the impressive performance of molecular motors by enabling molecules to evade…