Phase shift induces currents in a periodic tube

The average current of an overdamped Brownian particle moving along the axis of a three-dimensional periodic tube is investigated in the presence of a symmetric potential and a temporally symmetric unbiased external force. Reduction of the spatial dimensionality from two or three physical dimensions to an effective one-dimensional system entails the appearance of not only an entropic barrier but also an effective diffusion coefficient. The authors find that the phase shift between the tube shape and the potential can break the symmetry of the effective potential and can induce net currents. Under optimal condition, the current as a function of temperature and the phase shift possesses many extrema of alternating signs. The current may reverse its direction several times when temperature or the phase shift is changed. The authors' model is to describe the movement of molecular motors along microtubule. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.