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Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Biophysical Characterization of Flagellar Motor Functions
Published on: January 18, 2017
Fluctuation theorem and large deviation function for a solvable model of a molecular motor
D Lacoste1, A W C Lau, K Mallick
1Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR 7083, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Abstract:
We study a discrete stochastic model of a molecular motor. This discrete model can be viewed as a minimal ratchet model. We extend our previous work on this model, by further investigating the constraints imposed by the fluctuation theorem on the operation of a molecular motor far from equilibrium. In this work, we show the connections between different formulations of the fluctuation theorem. One formulation concerns the generating function of the currents while another one concerns the corresponding large deviation function, which we have calculated exactly for this model. A third formulation concerns the ratio of the probability of observing a velocity v to the same probability of observing a velocity -v . Finally, we show that all the formulations of the fluctuation theorem can be understood from the notion of entropy production.
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