title: Thermal noise can facilitate energy conversion by a ratchet system.
abstract: Molecular motors in biological systems are expected to use ambient fluctuation. In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 5251 (1998)], it was shown that the following question was unanswered: Can thermal noise facilitate energy conversion by ratchet system? We consider it using stochastic energetics, and show that there exist systems where thermal noise helps the energy conversion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan. fumiko@cmpt.phys.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hondou