Optimal control with a strong harmonic trap
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Updated: Aug 28, 2025

WheelCon: A Wheel Control-Based Gaming Platform for Studying Human Sensorimotor Control
Published on: August 15, 2020
Steven Blaber1, David A Sivak1
1Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6.
Abstract:
Quadratic trapping potentials are widely used to experimentally probe biopolymers and molecular machines and drive transitions in steered molecular-dynamics simulations. Approximating energy landscapes as locally quadratic, we design multidimensional trapping protocols that minimize dissipation. The designed protocols are easily solvable and applicable to a wide range of systems. The approximation does not rely on either fast or slow limits and is valid for any duration provided the trapping potential is sufficiently strong. We demonstrate the utility of the designed protocols with a simple model of a periodically driven rotary motor. Our results elucidate principles of effective single-molecule manipulation and efficient nonequilibrium free-energy estimation.
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