Barrier crossing dynamics of a charged particle in the presence of a magnetic field: A new turnover phenomenon

Abstract

In this paper we have investigated the effect of a magnetic field on the barrier crossing rate of a charged particle. At the low friction regime we have observed a new turnover phenomenon for the variation of rate as a function of field strength. Thus although the force due to the magnetic field is not dissipative in nature, it plays a role in the steady state barrier crossing rate similar to that of a dissipative force in the weak damping regime. For appreciable damping strength, the rate monotonically decreases with the increase of field strength. We have demonstrated an interesting resonance effect due to the variation of frequency of the harmonic oscillator associated with the y-component motion at low damping and magnetic field strength.