Numerical analysis of the flux and force generated by a correlation ratchet mechanism
Abstract. The correlation ratchet (CR) has been proposed as a possible mechanism for the operation of biomolecular motors. To test whether a CR mechanism is applicable to any particular motor, it is necessary to evaluate the unloaded velocity and the stall force of the CR mechanism. This paper is concerned with efficient numerical procedures for the determination of these quantities. In particular, the numerical results indicate that the stall force of a CR mechanism is quite limited, despite wide variations of the CR parameters.