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Title: Bistability driven by weakly colored Gaussian noise: The Fokker-Planck boundary layer and mean first-passage times

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. Lett.; (United States)

We develop a singular perturbation approach to the problem of first-passage times for non-Markovian processes driven by Gaussian colored noise near the white-noise limit. In particular we treat the problem of overdamped tunneling in a bistable quartic potential in the presence of Gaussian noise of short correlation time tau. The correct treatment of the absorbing boundary yields a lowest-order correction proportional to tau/sup 1/2/ with a proportionality constant involving the Milne extrapolation length for the Fokker-Planck equation, given in terms of the Riemann zeta function.

Research Organization:
Center for Nonlinear Studies and Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36; W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5852797
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. Lett.; (United States), Vol. 59:19
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English