0000000000399424
AUTHOR
N. Agudov
NONEQUILIBRIUM PHENOMENA AND METASTABILITY IN MESOSCOPIC AND QUANTUM SYSTEMS
Here we summarize some relevant results related to nonequilibrium phenomena in mesoscopic and quantum systems. A common phenomenon in the dynamics of out-of-equilibrium systems is the metastability, and the problem of the lifetime of metastable states involves fundamental aspects of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Metastability (see Fig. 1) is a signature of a first order phase transition, often characterized by a long-living metastable state. In particular, the stability of a metastable state can be enhanced by Gaussian and non-Gaussian noise sources. This counterintuitive effect has been found in different physical areas, ranging from spintronics, aggregation kinetics of Brownian pa…
Gaussian models for the distribution of Brownian particles in tilted periodic potentials
We present two Gaussian approximations for the time-dependent probability density function (PDF) of an overdamped Brownian particle moving in a tilted periodic potential. We assume high potential barriers in comparison with the noise intensity. The accuracy of the proposed approximated expressions for the time-dependent PDF is checked with numerical simulations of the Langevin dynamics. We found a quite good agreement between theoretical and numerical results at all times.