Garber A, Moloney NR, Kantz H. Hopping over a heat barrier.
PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2011;
83:031134. [PMID:
21517481 DOI:
10.1103/physreve.83.031134]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2010] [Revised: 12/08/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
We analyze diffusion in a finite domain with a position-dependent diffusion coefficient in terms of a stochastic hopping process. Via a coordinate transformation, we map the original system onto a problem with constant diffusion but nontrivial potential. In this way we show that a regime with enhanced diffusion acts as a potential barrier. We compute first-passage time distributions, hopping rates, and eigenvalues of the Fokker-Planck operator, and thereby verify that diffusion with a heat barrier is equivalent to a hopping process between metastable states.
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