Temperature anomalies of oscillating diffusion in ac-driven periodic systems

We analyze the impact of temperature on the diffusion coefficient of an inertial Brownian particle moving in a symmetric periodic potential and driven by a symmetric time-periodic force. Recent studies have revealed the low-friction regime in which the diffusion coefficient shows giant damped quasiperiodic oscillations as a function of the amplitude of the time-periodic force [I. G. Marchenko et al., Chaos 32, 113106 (2022)]. We find out that when temperature grows the diffusion coefficient increases at its minima; however, it decreases at the maxima within a finite temperature window. This curious behavior is explained in terms of the deterministic dynamics perturbed by thermal fluctuations and mean residence time of the particle in the locked and running trajectories. We demonstrate that temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient can be accurately reconstructed from the stationary probability to occupy the running trajectories.

Automated summary

We investigate the impact of temperature on the diffusion coefficient of an inertial Brownian particle in a symmetric periodic potential under the influence of a symmetric time-periodic force. It is observed that the diffusion coefficient exhibits giant damped quasiperiodic oscillations in the low-friction regime. Our research demonstrates that the diffusion coefficient increases at its minima when temperature rises, while it decreases at the maxima within a finite temperature range. This phenomenon can be explained by considering the perturbation of deterministic dynamics by thermal fluctuations and the mean residence time of the particle in locked and running trajectories. Moreover, we show that the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient can be accurately reconstructed using the stationary probability distribution of the running trajectories.