Eur. Phys. J. B 52, 501-505 (2006)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2006-00321-8

Reciprocating nanoengine

¹ Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-166, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
² Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 29, 119991 Moscow, Russia
³ Institute of Surface Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Generala Naumova str. 17, Kiev, 03164, Ukraine
⁴ Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences, Taipei, National Chiao-Tung University and National Nanodevice Laboratory (NDL), Hsinchu, Taiwan

Corresponding author: ^a yuam@ips.ac.ru

Received: 5 April 2006
Revised: 1 July 2006
Published online: 7 August 2006

Abstract

Brownian motion in a confining potential fluctuating between two spatially separated potential profiles is considered as a model of an engine converting nonequilibrium fluctuations into reciprocating motion on the nanoscale. We present two exact solutions obtained for the parabolic and step potential, which reveal the temperature and frequency-modulation behavior of the engine. The confining potential determines the interplay of the independent internal (thermal) and external (discrete) noises: the noises are cooperated for any potential, except the parabolic one. The engine can operate as a molecular motor, being supplemented by a rectifying mechanism.