Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Photorealistic Learned Landscapes for Augmented Reality
Published on: June 27, 2025
Reconstructing free-energy landscapes for nonequilibrium periodic potentials
N J López-Alamilla1, Michael W Jack1, K J Challis2
1Department of Physics, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Abstract:
We present a method for reconstructing the free-energy landscape of overdamped Brownian motion on a tilted periodic potential. Our approach exploits the periodicity of the system by using the k-space form of the Smoluchowski equation and we employ an iterative approach to determine the nonequilibrium tilt. We reconstruct landscapes for a number of example potentials to show the applicability of the method to both deep and shallow wells and near-to- and far-from-equilibrium regimes. The method converges logarithmically with the number of Fourier terms in the potential.
Related Concept Videos
Potential Energy
Chemical bonds that form attractive forces between atoms also contain potential energy, called chemical energy. When a chemical reaction...
Potential Energy
Cell Potential and Free Energy
Thermodynamics is the branch of physics dealing with the relationship between heat and other forms of energy. In an electrochemical cell, chemical energy is converted into electrical energy.
Thus, a link can be predicted between cell potential, free energy change, and the equilibrium constant for the reaction. Cell potential can also be measured as the oxidant or the reducing strength, and similar acid-base strength measures are reflected in equilibrium...
Types of Potential Energy
Gravitational Potential Energy
Elastic Potential Energy
Potential energy is also associated with the elastic force exerted by an ideal spring. The work done by this force can be represented as a change in the elastic potential energy of the spring. Thus, the work done by a perfectly elastic spring, in one dimension, depends...

