MOBILITY IN A ONE-DIMENSIONAL DISORDER POTENTIAL

In this article the one-dimensional, overdamped motion of a classical particle is considered, which is coupled to a thermal bath and is drifting in a quenched disorder potential. The mobility of the particle is examined as a function of temperature and driving force acting on the particle. A framework is presented, which reveals the dependence of mobility on spatial correlations of the disorder potential. Mobility is then calculated explicitly for new models of disorder, in particular with spatial correlations. It exhibits interesting dynamical phenomena. Most markedly, the temperature dependence of mobility may deviate qualitatively from Arrhenius formula and a localization transition from zero to finite mobility may occur at finite temperature. Examples show a suppression of this transition by disorder correlations.