Brownian Vortexes

dc.creatorSun, Bo
dc.creatorLin, Jiayi
dc.creatorDarby, Ellis
dc.creatorGrosberg, Alexander Y.
dc.creatorGrier, David G.
dc.date2009-03-15
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T12:52:47Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T12:52:47Z
dc.descriptionA particle diffusing around a point of stable mechanical equilibrium in a static but non-conservative force field enters into a steady state characterized by circulation in the probability flux. Circulation in such a Brownian vortex is not simply a deterministic response to the solenoidal component of the force, but rather reflects an interplay between force-driven probability currents and diffusion. As an example of this previously unrecognized class of stochastic heat engines, we consider a colloidal sphere stably trapped in a conventional optical tweezer. Rather than coming into thermodynamic equilibrium with the surrounding heat bath, the particle's Brownian fluctuations are biased into a toroidal roll. We demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the circulation in this practical realization of the Brownian vortex can undergo flux reversal.
dc.description4 pages, 4 figures
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0903.2649
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0903.2649
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/223407
dc.subjectSoft Condensed Matter
dc.subjectStatistical Mechanics
dc.titleBrownian Vortexes
dc.typetext

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