Scribd
Upload
24 views1 page

Brownian Motion Simulation in Potential Well

The document describes a particle undergoing Brownian motion in a potential well, governed by the overdamped Langevin equation. It provides a discretized version of the equation for numerical simulation and outlines the process to simulate 1000 single-particle trajectories starting from x=0 to determine the average time for particles to reach x=9. Parameters for the simulation include D=1, kB T=1, and a time step of ∆t=0.1.

Uploaded by

hahasofunny1v1.lol
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
24 views1 page

Brownian Motion Simulation in Potential Well

The document describes a particle undergoing Brownian motion in a potential well, governed by the overdamped Langevin equation. It provides a discretized version of the equation for numerical simulation and outlines the process to simulate 1000 single-particle trajectories starting from x=0 to determine the average time for particles to reach x=9. Parameters for the simulation include D=1, kB T=1, and a time step of ∆t=0.1.

Uploaded by

hahasofunny1v1.lol
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

A particle in the well of a potential undergoes Brownian motion according to the overdamped Langevin

equation
𝑑𝑥 𝐷 𝑑𝑈(𝑥)
=− + 𝑔(𝑡),
𝑑𝑡 𝑘B 𝑇 𝑑𝑥
where
〈𝑔(𝑡)〉 = 0,
〈𝑔(𝑡)𝑔(𝑡′)〉 = 2𝐷𝛿(𝑡 − 𝑡 ′ ).
and
0.5 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 < 3,
𝑈(𝑥) = {
9 − 0.5(𝑥 − 6)2 , 𝑥 ≥ 3.
When the particle reaches 𝑥 = 9 it gets absorbed.

The corresponding discretized version of the above equation is:


𝐷 𝑑𝑈(𝑥(𝑡))
𝑥(𝑡 + ∆𝑡) = 𝑥(𝑡) − ∆𝑡 + 𝜀√2𝐷∆𝑡,
𝑘B 𝑇 𝑑𝑥
where 𝜀 is a random number that satisfies the Gaussian distribution:
1 𝜀2
𝑝(𝜀) = exp (− ).
√2𝜋 2
From the discretized equation, one can numerically find 𝑥(𝑡 + ∆𝑡) for a given 𝑥(𝑡), and therefore solve 𝑥
along the entire time axis (i.e., 0 → ∆𝑡 , ∆𝑡 → 2∆𝑡 , 2∆𝑡 → 3∆𝑡 , etc.). Simulate 1000 single-particle
trajectories, all start at 𝑥 = 0. Find the average time for the particles to reach 𝑥 = 9. For simplicity, let’s
take 𝐷 = 1, 𝑘B 𝑇 = 1. For fast simulation, please take ∆𝑡 = 0.1.

You might also like