Absolute negative mobility of interacting Brownian particles

•Both the interaction and the thermal fluctuations play key roles in the ANM.•In the presence of the interaction, the ANM may appear in multiple regions.•The weak interaction facilitates the ANM while the strong interaction destroys the ANM.

Transport of interacting Brownian particles in a periodic potential is investigated in the presence of an ac force and a dc force. From Brownian dynamic simulations, we find that both the interaction between particles and the thermal fluctuations play key roles in the absolute negative mobility (the particle noisily moves backwards against a small constant bias). When no the interaction acts, there is only one region where the absolute negative mobility occurs. In the presence of the interaction, the absolute negative mobility may appear in multiple regions. The weak interaction can be helpful for the absolute negative mobility, while the strong interaction has a destructive impact on it.