Kink ratchet induced by a time-dependent symmetric field potential

Abstract

The ratchet effect of a sine-Gordon kink is investigated in the absence of any external force while the symmetry of the field potential at every time instant is maintained. The directed motion appears by a time shift of the sine-Gordon potential through a time-dependent additional phase. A symmetry analysis provides the necessary conditions for the existence of net motion. It is also shown analytically, by using a collective coordinate theory, that the novel physical mechanism responsible for the appearance of the ratchet effect is the coupled dynamics of the kink width with the background field. Biharmonic and dichotomic periodic variations of the additional phase of the sine-Gordon potential are considered. The predictions established by the symmetry analysis and the collective coordinate theory are verified by means of numerical simulations. Inversion and maximization of the resulting current as a function of the system parameters are investigated.