Demonstration of a Controllable Three-Dimensional Brownian Motor in Symmetric Potentials

2005/12/31 by Peder Sjölund, Peder Sjolund, Stefan J. H. Petra +9 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #physics.atom-ph #stochastic dynamics and bifurcation

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.96.190602

published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 190602 (2006) · 5 pages, 4 figures

arxiv created 2006/04/24 · openalex publication_date 2006/05/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We demonstrate a Brownian motor, based on cold atoms in optical lattices, where isotropic random fluctuations are rectified in order to induce controlled atomic motion in arbitrary directions. In contrast to earlier demonstrations of ratchet effects, our Brownian motor operates in potentials that are spatially and temporally symmetric, but where spatiotemporal symmetry is broken by a phase shift between the potentials and asymmetric transfer rates between them. The Brownian motor is demonstrated in three dimensions and the noise-induced drift is controllable in our system.

Citations

• Fundamental aspects of quantum Brownian motion
• Generation of multiple power-balanced laser beams for quantum-state manipulation experiments with phase-stable double optical lattices

Cited by

• Characterisation of a three-dimensional Brownian motor in optical lattices
• Controllable 3D atomic Brownian motor in optical lattices
• Dynamics stabilization and transport coherency in a rocking ratchet for cold atoms
• Experimental measurement of efficiency and transport coherence of a cold-atom Brownian motor in optical lattices
• Directed transport with real-time steering and drifts along predesigned paths using a Brownian motor
• Tunable transport with broken space–time symmetries