A coarse-grained model for a nanometer-scale molecular pump

doi:10.1073/pnas.2436170100

A coarse-grained model for a nanometer-scale molecular pump

Oded Hod and
Eran Rabani*

School of Chemistry, The Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

Communicated by Joshua Jortner, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, September 25, 2003 (received for review March 31, 2003)

Abstract

A theory for a nanometer-scale pump based on the ratchet concept is presented. A lattice gas model with a set of moves that satisfy hydrodynamic equations is used to describe an asymmetric nanometer channel connecting two reservoirs of fluid. The channel, which is coupled to an external oscillatory (or stochastic) driving force, pumps fluid from one reservoir to the other. The frequency of the external driving force, the fluid density, and the channel dimensions are used to control the fluid flow. We observe a nonmonotonic behavior of the flow with respect to some model parameters and discuss the efficiency of the device.

Footnotes

↵ * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rabani{at}tau.ac.il.
Abbreviation: FHP, Frisch–Hasslacher–Pomeau.
↵ † The density ρ = 1/N_occΣ_jn_j is defined as the sum over the occupation numbers of the links at each site (n_j) divided by the maximum occupation number at each site (N_occ).