Effects of additive noise on vibrational resonance in a bistable system

Abstract

We study the overdamped motion of a particle in a bistable potential subject to the action of a bichromatic force and additive noise, within the context of the vibrational resonance phenomenon. Under appropriate conditions, we obtain analytical expressions for the relevant observables which quantifies this phenomenon. The theoretical results are compared with those obtained by the numerical solution of the stochastic differential equation which describes the dynamics of the system. The limits of validity of the theoretical approach are also discussed. © 2004 The American Physical Society.