Periodically Rocked Thermal Ratchets

Abstract

We consider overdamped Brownian particles in anisotropic, periodic structures (ratchets) that are rocked periodically. Together with the periodic forcing, white thermal noise can generate a non-zero, macroscopic velocity. By tuning the parameters, the direction of the current can be reversed. Additionally, the current as a function of the driving amplitude exhibits several local maxima at finite driving frequencies. For zero thermal noise, the deterministic current assumes an intriguing structure, reflecting the complex dynamics of particle excursions along the ratchet.