Facilitated movement of inertial Brownian motors driven by a load under an asymmetric potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates how asymmetric potentials influence inertial Brownian motors, revealing optimal loads for maximum transport and multiple current reversals, thus advancing understanding of directed motion in complex systems.

Contribution

It extends previous studies to asymmetric potentials, identifying optimal loads and current reversal phenomena in inertial Brownian motors.

Findings

Optimal load values maximize mean velocity.

Multiple current reversals occur with increasing load.

Asymmetric potentials induce new transport phenomena.

Abstract

Based on recent work [L. Machura, M. Kostur, P. Talkner, J. Luczka, and P. Hanggi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 040601 (2007)], we extend the study of inertial Brownian motors to the case of an asymmetric potential. It is found that some transport phenomena appear in the presence of an asymmetric potential. Within tailored parameter regimes, there exists two optimal values of the load at which the mean velocity takes its maximum, which means that a load can facilitate the transport in the two parameter regimes. In addition, the phenomenon of multiple current reversals can be observed when the load is increased.