Double-temperature ratchet model and current reversal of coupled Brownian motors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a double-temperature ratchet model for coupled Brownian motors, revealing how their cooperative transport can be controlled and reversed by tuning system parameters, with potential applications in molecular motor systems.

Contribution

The study proposes a novel double-temperature ratchet model that accounts for interactions and asynchrony between motor heads, explaining current reversal phenomena in coupled Brownian motors.

Findings

Current direction can be reversed by adjusting coupling parameters.

Directed transport can be optimized by tuning pulsation period and phase shift.

Effective potential theory explains the mechanism of current reversal.

Abstract

On the basis of the transport features and experimental phenomena observed in studies of molecular motors, we proposea double-temperature ratchet model of coupled motors to reveal the dynamical mechanism of cooperative transport of motors with two heads, where the interactions and asynchrony between two motor heads are taken into account. We investigate the collective unidirectional transport of coupled system and find that the direction of motion can be reversed under certain conditions. Reverse motion can be achieved by modulating the coupling strength, coupling free length, and asymmetric coefficient of the periodic potential, which is understood in terms of the effective potential theory. The dependence of the directed current on various parameters is studied systematically. Directed transport of coupled Brownian motors can be manipulated and optimized by adjusting the pulsation period or the phase shift of the pulsation temperature.