Wednesday, 30 August, 2006
Bulk-Driven Nonequilibrium Phase Transitions in a Mesoscopic Ring
Hauke Hinsch and Erwin Frey -
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 095701 (2006)
We study a periodic one-dimensional exclusion process composed of a driven and a diffusive part. In a mesoscopic limit where both dynamics compete we identify bulk-driven phase transitions. We employ mean-field theory complemented by Monte Carlo simulations to characterize the emerging nonequilibrium steady states. Monte Carlo simulations reveal interesting correlation effects that we explain phenomenologically.