Demonstration of a controllable three-dimensional Brownian motor in symmetric potentials

P. Sjolund (1) , S.J.H. Petra (1) , C.M. Dion (1) , S. Jonsell (1) , M. Nylen (1) , Laurent Sanchez-Palencia (2) , A. Kastberg (1)

1 Department of Physics [Umeå]
2 laboratoire Charles Fabry de l'Institut d'Optique / Optique atomique

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 a potential that is spatially and temporally symmetric, in apparent contradiction to the Curie principle. Studies of Brownian motors, and in particular ones with unique control properties, are of fundamental interest because of the role they play in protein motors and their potential applications in nanotechnology.

Mots clés: Cold atoms; laser cooling; Sisyphus cooling; optical lattice; noise; rectification; ratchet; stochastic; dissipative; Brownian motor

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]

P. Sjolund, S.J.H. Petra, C.M. Dion, S. Jonsell, M. Nylen, et al.. Demonstration of a controllable three-dimensional Brownian motor in symmetric potentials. Physical Review Letters, 2006, 96, pp.190602. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.190602⟩. ⟨hal-00016020⟩