Ultrafast Directed Transport via Energy Recuperation in Non-Markovian Systems
Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 177102 – Published 21 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tj49-5vyf
Abstract
A recent pioneering experiment [Ginot and Bechinger, Nat. Commun. 16, 10114 (2025)] demonstrated that a driven overdamped colloidal particle in a harmonic trap immersed in a viscoelastic fluid can recuperate energy dissipated into the surrounding bath and convert it into useful work. In this Letter we considerably extend the original predictions. In particular, we show that energy recuperation is a generic feature of non-Markovian systems both in and out of equilibrium, even in a system as simple as a free Brownian particle. Moreover, we demonstrate that inertia alone, even in the strong damping regime, can lead to this effect despite the absence of any external forcing. These results suggest that energy recuperation can be ubiquitous in nature and it may be the modus operandi of various phenomena in setups with memory. We show that this novel mechanism of energy recovery is the source of memory-induced ultrafast directed transport of a particle in a periodic potential in which it almost attains its top speed corresponding to the system with no energy barriers. Our results have direct application to the dynamics of biological and soft matter systems, that are typically non-Markovian.
