Generalized Einstein relation in tilted periodic potential: a semiclassical approach

Abstract

This paper concerns the investigation of the quantum motion of a system in a dissipative Ohmic heat bath in the presence of an external field using the traditional system-reservoir model. Using physically motivated initial conditions, we then obtain the c-number of the generalized quantum Langevin equation by which we calculate the quantum correction terms using a perturbation technique. As a result of this, one can apply a classical differential equation-based approach to consider quantum diffusion in a tilted periodic potential, and thus our approach is easy to use. We use our expression to calculate the Einstein relation for the quantum Brownian particle in a ratchet-type potential in a very simple closed analytical form using a suitable and convenient approximation. It is found that the diffusion rate is independent of the detailed form of the potential both in quantum and classical regimes, which is the main essence of this work.