Closed Formula for Transport across Constrictions

Abstract

In the last decade, the Fick–Jacobs approximation has been exploited to capture transport across constrictions. Here, we review the derivation of the Fick–Jacobs equation with particular emphasis on its linear response regime. We show that, for fore-aft symmetric channels, the flux of noninteracting systems is fully captured by its linear response regime. For this case, we derive a very simple formula that captures the correct trends and can be exploited as a simple tool to design experiments or simulations. Lastly, we show that higher-order corrections in the flux may appear for nonsymmetric channels.