학술논문

Directing Brownian motion on a periodic surface
Document Type
Working Paper
Source
Subject
Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics
Language
Abstract
We consider an overdamped Brownian particle, exposed to a two-dimensional, square lattice potential and a rectangular ac-drive. Depending on the driving amplitude, the linear response to a weak dc-force along a lattice symmetry axis consist in a mobility in basically any direction. In particular, motion exactly opposite to the applied dc-force may arise. Upon changing the angle of the dc-force relatively to the square lattice, the particle motion remains predominantly opposite to the dc-force. The basic physical mechanism consists in a spontaneous symmetry breaking of the unbiased deterministic particle dynamics.
Comment: 4 Pages, 4 figures, accepted for Phys. Rev. Lett