Phase Transitions in Driven Lattice Gases and Brownian Motors

Date

May 9, 2016

Time

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Speaker

Philipp Maass

Affiliation

Universität Osnabrück

Series

MPI-PKS Kolloquium

Language

en

Main Topic

Physik

Other Topics

Physik

Host

Eduardo Altmann

Description

Brownian motors can generate particle transport in small systems exposed to strongly noisy environments and have found widespread applications ranging from cellular ion pumps to quantum ratchets. Rather than being an obstacle, noise in general is a decisive factor for their functioning. Different types of Brownian motors have been investigated extensively with particular emphasis on exploring underlying mechanisms and conditions for optimal particle transport. The comparatively rare studies on the role of particle interactions have revealed interesting effects, such as current reversal and efficiency enhancements. In the talk I show that phase transitions occur in Brownian motors if particle interactions are taken into account [1,2]. Already the simplest type of exclusion interaction is sufficient for the phase transition to appear and there exists a close connection to phase transitions found in driven diffusion systems under a static bias. I argue that the occurrence of the phase transitions is generic irrespective of the type of motor. The motor’s efficiency and its variation with the control parameters depend on the phase, in which the motor operates. Certain phases can be utilised to make the particle transport robust against external perturbations. [1] M. Dierl, W. Dieterich, M. Einax, P. Maass: Phase transitions in Brownian pumps. Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 150601 (2014). [2]M. Dierl, P. Maass: Phase transitions in Brownian motors. Preprint (2016).

Last modified: May 9, 2016, 9:46:21 AM