Diffusion over barriers: Eigenanalysis of the Smoluchowski equation for bistable potentials

A variational method is used to get the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the one-dimensional Smoluchowski equation for two types of symmetric bistable potential fields. The effects of barrier height and width on the rate of escape of particles over the barrier (first non-zero eigenvalue) are evaluated numerically and the results are compared with Kramers' theory in order to assess its range of application.

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Year of publication:	1982
Authors:	López de Haro, M.
Published in:	Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. - Elsevier, ISSN 0378-4371. - Vol. 111.1982, 1, p. 65-84
Publisher:	Elsevier

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Type of publication:	Article
Source:	RePEc - Research Papers in Economics

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011060774