Noise-assisted classical adiabatic pumping in a symmetric periodic potential.

Abstract

We consider a classical overdamped Brownian particle moving in a symmetric periodic potential. We show that a net particle flow can be produced by adiabatically changing two external periodic potentials with a phase difference phi in time and chi in space. The classical pumped current is found to be independent of the friction and to vanish both in the limit of low and high temperature. Below a critical temperature, adiabatic pumping appears to be more efficient than transport due to a constant external force.