LANGEVIN SIMULATION APPROACH TO A 2-DIMENSIONAL COUPLED FLASHING RATCHET

We study the directed motion of a Brownian particle moving in a two-di mensional coupled flashing ratchet driven by Gaussian white noise. The temperature dependence of the current is evaluated numerically in ter ms of Langevin simulation and discussed by means of a heuristic analyt ical ad hoc approximation. The current can be enhanced or reversed due to the coupling effects between two degrees of freedom. Our results s how that the noise is rectified even in the absence of a true activati on energy barrier and the two-dimensional ratchet current does not van ish as the temperature approaches infinity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.