ESCAPE FROM A METASTABLE WELL UNDER A TIME-RAMPED FORCE

Authors
SHILLCOCK J SEIFERT U
Citation
J. Shillcock et U. Seifert, ESCAPE FROM A METASTABLE WELL UNDER A TIME-RAMPED FORCE, Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics, 57(6), 1998, pp. 7301-7304
Citations number
15
Categorie Soggetti
Physycs, Mathematical","Phsycs, Fluid & Plasmas
Journal title
Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics → ACNP
ISSN journal
1063651X
Volume
57
Issue
6
Year of publication
1998
Pages
7301 - 7304
Database
ISI
SICI code
1063-651X(1998)57:6<7301:EFAMWU>2.0.ZU;2-Q
Abstract
Thermally activated escape of an over-damped particle from a metastabl e well under the action of a time-ramped force is studied. We express the mean first passage time (MFPT) as the solution to a partial differ ential equation, which we solve numerically for a model case. We discu ss two approximations of the MFPT, one of which works remarkably well over a wide range of loading rates, while the second is easy to Calcul ate and can provide a valuable first estimate.