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Abstract: The transport properties of coupled Brownian motors in rocking ratchet are investigated via solving Langevin equation analytically and numerically. In comparison with the result of single particle, our results show that the center-of-mass of elastically coupled Brownian motors moves faster than the corresponding single particle, and the efficiency and the Pe number of coupled Brownian motors are larger than those of the single Brownian motor. The reason is that in rocking ratchet the co-operative interplay between the interaction between coupled particles and external nonequilibrium fluctuations facilitates the directed motion and energy conversion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The properties of a ratchet system rectifying the random motion of two harmonically coupled particles with arbitrary coupling strengths are studied via Langevin simulations. In comparison with the result of single particle, our results show that the average center-of-mass velocity vc of two particles is larger than the average velocity v1 of single particle in the rocking ratchet for low-to-moderate noise intensities, however, vc in the flashing ratchet. The former is due to the decrease of effective barrier that the center-of-mass of two particles feels, and the latter is because of the distance of two diffusing particles across the nearest barrier increasing effectively. Numerical results are performed for a larger parameter regime and the validation of the proposed effective potential is illustrated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]