The time-dependence of the occupation probabilities of neighboring wells due to diffusion in one dimension is formulated in terms of a set of generalized rate equations describing transitions between neighboring wells and escape across a final barrier. The equations contain rate coefficients,...

Escape by diffusion from a double-well potential across a barrier is studied on the basis of the Smoluchowski equation in one dimension. By comparison with exact results for a piecewise parabolic potential a reduced description is constructed in terms of a set of rate equations for the...