Relative stability of dynamical states and stochastic resonance in a sinusoidal potential

Abstract

Recently, stochastic resonance was shown to occur in underdamped periodic potentials at frequencies (of the drive field) close to the natural frequency at the minima of the potentials. In these systems the particle trajectories are not arbitrary at low temperatures but follow the drive field with two definite mean phase differences depending on the initial conditions. The trajectories are thus found to be in only two stable dynamical states. The occurrence of stochastic resonance in the periodic potentials was explained as a consequence of the transitions between these two dynamical states as the temperature was increased. In the present work, we find the range of amplitudes of the drive field over which the dynamical states could be observed in a sinusoidal potential. The variation of the relative stability of the dynamical states as a function of drive-field amplitude is clarified by analyzing the nature of curves characterizing the stochastic resonance as the amplitude is varied within the range.