Control of reaction rate by asymmetric two-state noise

We revisit the far from equilibrium escape problem across a fluctuating pot ential barrier that is driven by asymmetric, unbiased dichotomous noise. Ou r closed analytical solution for arbitrary noise strengths reveals new aspe cts of the so-called "resonant-activation" effect and leads to interesting implications regarding far from equilibrium or externally controlled chemic al reaction processes. Specifically, a genuine asymmetry-induced variant of resonant activation within the constant intensity scaling scheme is discov ered, and a new possibility to manipulate reaction rates and yields, as wel l as the balance between reactants and products, is put forward. (C) 1999 A merican Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(99)51332-9].