Activity induced first order transition for the current in a disordered medium

Abstract

It is well known that particles can get trapped by randomly placed obstacles when they are pushed too much. We present a model where the current in a disordered medium dies at a large external field, but is reborn when the activity is increased. By activity we mean the time-variation of the external driving at a constant time-averaged field. A different interpretation of the resurgence of the current is that the particles are capable of taking an infinite sequence of potential barriers via a mechanism similar to stochastic resonance. We add a discussion regarding the role of "shaking" in processes of relaxation.