A Granular Brownian Ratchet Model

Abstract

We show by numerical simulations that a non rotationally symmetric body, whose orientation is fixed and whose center of mass can only slide along a rectilinear guide, under the effect of inelastic collisions with a surrounding gas of particles, displays directed motion. We present a theory which explains how the lack of time reversal induced by the inelasticity of collisions can be exploited to generate a steady average drift. In the limit of an heavy ratchet, we derive an effective Langevin equation whose parameters depend on the microscopic properties of the system and obtain a fairly good quantitative agreement between the theoretical predictions and simulations concerning mobility, diffusivity and average velocity.