Abstract
We treat the noise-activated escape from a one-dimensional potential well of an overdamped particle, to which a periodic force of fixed frequency is applied. Near the well top, the relevant length scales and the boundary layer structure are determined. We show how behavior near the well top generalizes the behavior determined by Kramers, in the case without forcing. Our analysis includes the case when the forcing does not die away in the weak-noise limit. We discuss the relevance of scaling regimes, defined by the relative strengths of the forcing and the noise, to recent optical trap experiments.
- Received 30 May 2000
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.3942
©2001 American Physical Society