title: Current reversals and synchronization in coupled ratchets.
abstract: Current reversal is an intriguing phenomenon that has been central to recent experimental and theoretical investigations of transport based on ratchet mechanism. By considering a system of two interacting ratchets, we demonstrate how the coupling can be used to control the reversals. In particular, we find that current reversal that exists in a single driven ratchet system can ultimately be eliminated with the presence of a second ratchet. For specific coupling strengths a current-reversal free regime has been detected. Furthermore, in the fully synchronized state characterized by the coupling threshold k(th), a specific driving amplitude a(opt) is found for which the transport is optimum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, United Kingdom. u.vincent@tu-clausthal.de
authors.forename: U E
authors.initials: UE
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kenfack
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Senthilkumar
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurths
mesh_terms: D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009038:Motion