Quantum ratchets and quantum heat pumps

Quantum ratchets are Brownian motors in which the quantum dynamics of particles induces qualitatively new behavior. We review a series of experiments in which asymmetric semiconductor devices of sub-micron dimensions are used to study quantum ratchets for electrons. In rocked quantum-dot ratchets electron-wave interference is used to create a non-linear voltage response, leading to a ratchet effect. The direction of the net ratchet current in this type of device can be sensitively controlled by changing one of the following experimental variables: a small external magnetic field, the amplitude of the rocking force, or the Fermi energy. We also describe a tunneling ratchet in which the current direction depends on temperature. In our discussion of the tunneling ratchet we distinguish between three contributions to the non-linear current–voltage characteristics that lead to the ratchet effect: thermal excitation over energy barriers, tunneling through barriers, and wave reflection from barriers. Finally, we discuss the operation of adiabatically rocked tunneling ratchets as heat pumps. Received: 8 February 2002 / Accepted: 11 February 2002 / Published online: 22 April 2002     

Charging ratchets: Coulomb blockade and rectification

Discrete ratchets describe directed motion of a ‘reaction coordinate’ through a cycle of states in response to some varying external parameter. Such systems, in the simple, history-independent case, are described by a Markov process which in turn leads to a master equation with a transition matrix. Thus the ratchet property is reduced to a characteristic of the parameter-dependent symmetry of matrices. In the standard model of tunneling through a set of quantum dots in the Coulomb-blockade regime, a master equation is also used to describe the evolution through states in ‘dot-occupancy space’, leading to transport of electrons from a source to a drain. The symmetry of the transition matrix in this case is also a function of external parameters, notably the applied gate voltages and source–drain voltage, as well as depending on the configuration of dots and their tunnel couplings. We show that rectification and other ratchet behavior is a common feature of tunneling transport in the Coulomb-blockade regime. We also show that specific arrangements of dots and their tunnel couplings can be designed to enhance the ratchet effect. Finally, we show that the strong rectification of Coulomb-blockaded systems results from the reduction in phase space accessible to the system as it traverses the states in the reaction cycle. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002 / Published online: 22 April 2002     

Vortex-rectification effects in films with periodic asymmetric pinning

We study the transport of vortices excited by an ac current in an Al film with an array of nanoengineered asymmetric antidots. The vortex response to the ac current is investigated by detailed measurements of the voltage output as a function of ac current amplitude, magnetic field, and temperature. The measurements revealed pronounced voltage rectification effects which are mainly characterized by the two critical depinning forces of the asymmetric potential. The shape of the net dc voltage as a function of the excitation amplitude indicates that our vortex ratchet behaves in a way very different from standard overdamped models. Rather, the repinning force, necessary to stop vortex motion, is considerably smaller than the depinning force, resembling the behavior of the so-called inertia ratchets. Calculations based on an underdamped ratchet model provide a very good fit to the experimental data.     

Inertial effects, mass separation and rectification power in Lévy ratchets

We study the dynamics of particles in an external anisotropic periodic potential under the influence of additive white Lévy noise, in a general not overdamped situation. Different quantities characterizing directionality, coherence and dispersion are analyzed as functions of the mass and other systems parameters. We show that, while the current decreases monotonously with the stability index of the Lévy noise, there exists a particular intermediate value of such parameter (slightly dependent on the mass) that minimizes the time required to form a coherent particle package advancing in the preferred direction. Moreover, we show the possibility of observing mass separation. This means that particles of different masses may advance in opposite directions when influenced by the same ratchet potential and the same Lévy noise. Finally, we show that the ratio of the advanced distance to the total distance travelled constitutes a relevant measure for the rectification power, useful not only for Lévy ratchets but also for general ratchets systems. In particular, we find that it behaves quite similar to the rectification efficiency for standard models of rocking and flashing ratchets found in the literature.     

Resonant current in coupled inertial Brownian particles with delayed-feedback control

The transport of a walker in rocking feedback-controlled ratchets is investigated. The walker consists of two coupled “feet” that allow the interchange of the order of particles while the walker moves. In the underdamped case, the deterministic dynamics of the walker in a tilted asymmetric ratchet with an external periodic force is considered. It is found that delayed feedback ratchets with a switching-onand-off dependence of the states of the system can lead to absolute negative mobility. In such a novel phenomenon, the particles move against the bias. Moreover, the walker can acquire a series of resonant steps for different values of the current. It is interesting to find that the resonant currents of the walker are induced by the phase locked motion that corresponds to the synchronization of the motion with the change in the frequency of the external driving. These resonant steps can be well predicted in terms of time-space symmetry analysis, which is in good agreement with dynamics simulations. The transport performances can be optimized and controlled by suitably adjusting the parameters of the delayed-feedback ratchets.     

The I-V characteristics of double barrier stair-wells

We investigated the I-V characteristics of the double barrier stair-well structure. Resonant tunneling current is achieved by application of an electric field, which increases the transmission under positive bias and decreases it under the reverse bias. This asymmetry can be used for rectification and the device works as a quantum diode. Furthermore, the same structure can perform, under negative bias, resonant tunneling processes with different characteristics.     

SQUID ratchets: basics and experiments

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are very well suited for experimental investigations of ratchet effects. This is due to the periodicity of the Josephson coupling energy with respect to the phase difference δ of the superconducting macroscopic wave function across a Josephson junction. We show first that, within the resistively and capacitively shunted junction model, the equation of motion for δ is equivalent to the motion of a particle in the so-called tilted washboard potential, and we derive the conditions which have to be satisfied to build a ratchet potential based on asymmetric dc SQUIDs. We then present results from numerical simulations and experimental investigations of dc SQUID ratchets with critical-current asymmetry under harmonic excitation (periodically rocking ratchets). We discuss the impact of important properties like damping or thermal noise on the operation of SQUID ratchets in various regimes, such as adiabatically slow or fast nonadiabatic excitation. Received: 22 November 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002 / Published online: 22 April 2002     

Steering Multiple Reverse Current into UnidirectionalCurrent in Deterministic Ratchets

Recent investigations have shown that with varying the amplitude of the external force, the deterministic ratchets exhibit multiple current reversals, which
are undesirable in certain circumstances. To control the multiple reverse current to unidirectional current, an adaptive control law is presented inspired from the relation between multiple reversals current and the chaos-periodic/quasiperiodic transition of the transport velocity. The designed controller can stabilize the transport velocity of ratchets to steady state and suppress any chaos-periodic/quasiperiodic transition, namely, the stable transport in ratchets is achieved, which makes the current sign unchanged.     

Rectification mechanism in diblock oligomer molecular diodes

We investigated a mechanism of rectification in diblock oligomer diode molecules that have recently been synthesized and showed a pronounced asymmetry in the measured I-V spectrum. The observed rectification effect is due to the resonant nature of electron transfer in the system and the localization properties of bound state wave functions of resonant states of the tunneling electron interacting with an asymmetric molecule in an electric field. The asymmetry of the tunneling wave function is enhanced or weakened depending on the polarity of the applied bias. The conceptually new theoretical approach, the Green's function theory of sub-barrier scattering, is able to provide a physically transparent explanation of this rectification effect based on the concept of the bound state spectrum of a tunneling electron. The theory predicts the characteristic features of the I-V spectrum in qualitative agreement with experiment.     

Analytical solution to transport in Brownian ratchets via the gambler's ruin model

We present an analogy between the classic gambler's ruin problem and the thermally activated dynamics in periodic Brownian ratchets. By considering each periodic unit of the ratchet as a site chain, we calculated the transition probabilities and mean first passage time for transitions between energy minima of adjacent units. We consider the specific case of Brownian ratchets driven by Markov dichotomous noise. The explicit solution for the current is derived for any arbitrary temperature, and is verified numerically by Langevin simulations. The conditions for current reversal in the ratchet are obtained and discussed.     

Pair Tunneling through Single Molecules

By a polaronic energy shift, the effective charging energy of molecules can become negative, favoring ground states with even numbers of electrons. Here we show that charge transport through such molecules near ground-state degeneracies is dominated by tunneling of electron pairs which coexists with (featureless) single-electron cotunneling. Because of the restricted phase space for pair tunneling, the current-voltage characteristics exhibit striking differences from the conventional Coulomb blockade. In asymmetric junctions, pair tunneling can be used for gate-controlled current rectification and switching.     

Hamiltonian Ratchets with Ultra‐Cold Atoms

Quantum‐resonance ratchets have been realized over the last ten years for the production of directed currents of atoms. These non‐dissipative systems are based on the interaction of a Bose‐Einstein condensate with an optical standing wave potential to produce a current of atoms in momentum space. In this paper we provide a review of the important features of these ratchets with a particular emphasis on their optimization using more complex initial states. We also examine their stability close to resonance conditions of the kicking. Finally we discuss the way in which these ratchets may pave the way for applications in quantum (random) walks and matter‐wave interferometry.     

Feynman's Ratchet and Pawl

While many papers in the last few years have dealt with various equations euphemistically called “ratchets,” the original Feyman two-temperature setup has been left largely unchallenged. We present here a look at the details of how this famous engine actually generates motion from a temperature difference.     

Molecular ratchets: verification of the principle of detailed balance and the second law of dynamics

We argue that the recent experiments of Kelly et al. [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 36, 1866 (1997)] on molecular ratchets, in addition to being in agreement with the second law of thermodynamics, is a test of the principle of detailed balance for the ratchet. We suggest experiments, using an asymmetric ratchet, to further test the principle. We also point out methods involving a time variation of the temperature to give it a directional motion.     

Phase synchronization in unidirectionally coupled chaotic ratchets

We study chaotic phase synchronization of unidirectionally coupled deterministic chaotic ratchets. The coupled ratchets were simulated in their chaotic states and perfect phase locking was observed as the coupling was gradually increased. We identified the region of phase synchronization for the ratchets and show that the transition to chaotic phase synchronization is via an interior crisis transition to strange attractor in the phase space.     

Control of current reversal in single and multiparticle inertia ratchets

We have studied the deterministic dynamics of underdamped single and multiparticle ratchets associated with current reversal, as a function of the amplitude of the external driving force. Two experimentally inspired methods are used. In the first method, the same initial condition is used for each new value of the amplitude. In the second method, the last position and velocity is used as the new initial condition when the amplitude is changed. The two methods are found to be complementary for control of current reversal, because the first one elucidates the existence of different attractors and gives information about their basins of attraction, while the second method, although history dependent, shows the locking process. We show that control of current reversals in deterministic inertia ratchets is possible as a consequence of a locking process associated with different mean velocity attractors. An unlocking effect is produced when a chaos to order transition limits the control range.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of the semi-insulating CdZnTe(110) surface

The morphology and electronic structure of the (110) surface of semi-insulating CdZnTe has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The surface shows a 1 × 1 reconstruction whilst the tunneling spectra are highly rectified implying that imaging could only be performed at negative sample bias. Theoretical computations of the tunnel current have been used to fit to experiment to reveal the origin of each tunneling component and explain the rectification observed. The implications of various surface defects and surface states are considered. A discussion on scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy on semi-insulating materials in general is also given.     

Dynamical properties of mesoscopic ring coupled to an ac driven electron reservoir

We investigate a one-dimensional mesoscopic ring with a constant magnetic flux coupled to an electron reservoir which is driven by an oscillating potential. There is time-dependent tunneling current between the ring and reservoir with a zero net value. The persistent current in the ring is also time-dependent due to the driving potential. The time-averaged persistent current is related to electron transfer between two coupled parts which is associated with the Fermi energy and side bands of the reservoir.     

Signal mixing in a ratchet device: commensurability and current control

Rectification current in overdamped ratchets can be easily controlled by applying two driving signals and tuning either their relative phase or their frequency ratio. The interplay of the two inputs generates intriguing transport mechanisms that can be implemented to optimize shuttling and separation of particles in a variety of physical and technological applications.Received: 11 April 2004, Published online: 13 July 2004PACS: 05.40.-a Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion - 05.60.Cd Classical transport - 87.16.Uv Active transport processes; ion channels