Nonequilibrium Langevin Equation and Effective Temperature for Particle Interacting with Spatially Extended Environment

Abstract

We investigate a novel type of Langevin model that describes the nonequilibrium dynamics of a classical particle interacting with a spatially extended environment. In this model, a particle, which interacts with the environment through the nonlinear interaction Hamiltonian, is driven by a constant external force, and subsequently, it reaches a nontrivial nonequilibrium steady state. We derive an effective Langevin equation for the particle in the nonequilibrium steady states. Using this equation, we calculate the effective temperature defined as the ratio of the correlation function of the velocity fluctuation to the linear response function with respect to a small perturbation. As a result, it is shown that the effective temperature associated with the time scale of the particle is identical to the kinetic temperature if the time scale of the environment and that of the particle are well separated. Furthermore, a noteworthy expression, which relates the kinetic temperature with the curvature of the driving force-mean velocity curve, is derived.