Brownian particles moving in a periodic potential with or without external load are often used as good theoretical models for the phenomenological studies of microscopic heat engines. The model that we propose here, assumes the particle to be moving in a nonequilibrium medium and we have obtained the exact expression for the stationary current density. We have restricted our consideration to the overdamped motion of the Brownian particle. We present here a self-consistent theory based on the system-reservoir coupling model, within a microscopic approach, of fluctuation induced transport in the semiclassical limit for a general system coupled with two heat baths kept at different temperatures. This essentially puts forth an approach to semiclassical state-dependent diffusion. We also explore the possibility of observing a current when the temperature of the two baths are different, and also envisage that our system may act as a Carnot engine even when the bath temperatures are the same. The condition for such a construction has been elucidated.

• Received 13 February 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.81.061112