Cluster sizes, particle displacements and currents in transport mediated by solitary cluster waves

Abstract

In overdamped particle motion across periodic landscapes, solitary cluster waves can occur at high particle densities and lead to particle transport even in the absence of thermal noise. Here we show that for driven motion under a constant drag, the sum of all particle displacements per soliton equals one wavelength of the periodic potential. This unit displacement law is used to determine particle currents mediated by the solitons. We furthermore derive properties of clusters involved in the wave propagation as well as relations between cluster sizes and soliton numbers.