Ratchet transport of an active-passive mixture chain in confined structures

Rectified transport of the active-passive mixture chain is numerically investigated in periodic confined structures. Due to the out-of-equilibrium property of active particles in the chain, the whole chain can be rectified. It is found that the interaction between particles can significantly affect the rectified transport. When all particles in the chain are active, the directed velocity decreases monotonously with increasing the interaction strength. When the particles are mixture, on increasing the interaction strength, the directed velocity firstly decreases to its minimal value, then increases to its maximal value, and finally decreases to zero. In addition, there exist optimal parameters (self-propelled velocity, the natural length of the spring) at which the average velocity is maximal.