Molecular motor with a built-in escapement device
- 1 October 2004
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Europhysics Letters
- Vol. 68 (1), 26-32
- https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i2003-10311-0
Abstract
We study dynamics of a classical particle in a one-dimensional potential, which is composed of two periodic components, that are time-independent, have equal amplitudes and periodicities. One of them is externally driven by a random force and thus performs a diffusive-type motion with respect to the other. We demonstrate that here, under certain conditions, the particle may move unidirectionally with a constant velocity, despite the fact that the random force averages out to zero. We show that the physical mechanism underlying such a phenomenon resembles the work of an escapement-type device in watches; upon reaching certain level, random fluctuations exercise a locking function creating the points of irreversibility in particle's trajectories such that the particle gets uncompensated displacements. Repeated (randomly) in each cycle, this process ultimately results in a random ballistic-type motion. In the overdamped limit, we work out simple analytical estimates for the particle's terminal velocity. Our analytical results are in a very good agreement with the Monte Carlo data.This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
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