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Date

Cost

Free and open to the public

Location

Harris Corporation Engineering Center, Room 101A

Description

The analysis of time-scale separation of fast and slow variables in purely classical stochastic (i.e. influenced by random noise) processes uncovers an unusual phenomenon [1], which is analogous to the quantum mechanical Berry phase. Its discovery leads to an elegant unifying quantitative theory for a plethora of effects in non-equilibrium statistical physics. Importantly, the theory of geometric phases in stochastic kinetics provides a new theoretical/computational approach to quantify performance of nano-mechanical devices and their control in stochastic environments. I will review this theory, including recent exact results [2-3], and outline future applications to modeling of nanoscale systems.

References:
[1] N. A. Sinitsyn, and I. Nemenman, The Berry phase and the pump flux in stochastic chemical kinetics, Euro. Phys. Lett. 77, 58001 (2007)
[2] V. Y. Chernyak, and N. A. Sinitsyn, Pumping-Restriction Theorem for Stochastic Networks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 160601 (2008)
[3] V. Y. Chernyak, and N. A. Sinitsyn, Robust quantization of a molecular motor motion in a stochastic environment, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 181101, 2009