Quantization and corrections of adiabatic particle transport in a periodic ratchet potential

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2002 EDP Sciences
, , Citation Y. Shi and Q. Niu 2002 EPL 59 324 DOI 10.1209/epl/i2002-00197-2

0295-5075/59/3/324

Abstract

We study the transport of an overdamped particle adiabatically driven by an asymmetric potential which is periodic in both space and time. We develop an adiabatic perturbation theory after transforming the Fokker-Planck equation into a time-dependent Hermitian problem, and reveal an analogy with quantum adiabatic particle transport. An analytical expression is obtained for the ensemble average of the particle velocity in terms of the Berry phase of the Bloch states. Its time average is shown to be quantized as a Chern number in the deterministic or tight-binding limit, with exponentially small corrections. In the opposite limit, where the thermal energy dominates the ratchet potential, a formula for the average velocity is also obtained, showing a second-order dependence on the potential.

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10.1209/epl/i2002-00197-2