106 research outputs found
Parallel Coupling of Symmetric and Asymmetric Exclusion Processes
A system consisting of two parallel coupled channels where particles in one
of them follow the rules of totally asymmetric exclusion processes (TASEP) and
in another one move as in symmetric simple exclusion processes (SSEP) is
investigated theoretically. Particles interact with each other via hard-core
exclusion potential, and in the asymmetric channel they can only hop in one
direction, while on the symmetric lattice particles jump in both directions
with equal probabilities. Inter-channel transitions are also allowed at every
site of both lattices. Stationary state properties of the system are solved
exactly in the limit of strong couplings between the channels. It is shown that
strong symmetric couplings between totally asymmetric and symmetric channels
lead to an effective partially asymmetric simple exclusion process (PASEP) and
properties of both channels become almost identical. However, strong asymmetric
couplings between symmetric and asymmetric channels yield an effective TASEP
with nonzero particle flux in the asymmetric channel and zero flux on the
symmetric lattice. For intermediate strength of couplings between the lattices
a vertical cluster mean-field method is developed. This approximate approach
treats exactly particle dynamics during the vertical transitions between the
channels and it neglects the correlations along the channels. Our calculations
show that in all cases there are three stationary phases defined by particle
dynamics at entrances, at exits or in the bulk of the system, while phase
boundaries depend on the strength and symmetry of couplings between the
channels. Extensive Monte Carlo computer simulations strongly support our
theoretical predictions.Comment: 16 page
Inhomogeneous Coupling in Two-Channel Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Processes
Asymmetric exclusion processes for particles moving on parallel channels with
inhomogeneous coupling are investigated theoretically. Particles interact with
hard-core exclusion and move in the same direction on both lattices, while
transitions between the channels is allowed at one specific location in the
bulk of the system. An approximate theoretical approach that describes the
dynamics in the vertical link and horizontal lattice segments exactly but
neglects the correlation between the horizontal and vertical transport is
developed. It allows us to calculate stationary phase diagrams, particle
currents and densities for symmetric and asymmetric transitions between the
channels. It is shown that in the case of the symmetric coupling there are
three stationary phases, similarly to the case of single-channel totally
asymmetric exclusion processes with local inhomogeneity. However, the
asymmetric coupling between the lattices lead to a very complex phase diagram
with ten stationary-state regimes. Extensive Monte Carlo computer simulations
generally support theoretical predictions, although simulated stationary-state
properties slightly deviate from calculated in the mean-field approximation,
suggesting the importance of correlations in the system. Dynamic properties and
phase diagrams are discussed by analyzing constraints on the particle currents
across the channels
Switching on electrocatalytic activity in solid oxide cells
Solid oxide cells (SOCs) can operate with high efficiency in two ways - as fuel cells, oxidizing a fuel to produce electricity, and as electrolysis cells, electrolysing water to produce hydrogen and oxygen gases. Ideally, SOCs should perform well, be durable and be inexpensive, but there are often competitive tensions, meaning that, for example, performance is achieved at the expense of durability. SOCs consist of porous electrodes - the fuel and air electrodes - separated by a dense electrolyte. In terms of the electrodes, the greatest challenge is to deliver high, long-lasting electrocatalytic activity while ensuring cost- and time-efficient manufacture. This has typically been achieved through lengthy and intricate ex situ procedures. These often require dedicated precursors and equipment; moreover, although the degradation of such electrodes associated with their reversible operation can be mitigated, they are susceptible to many other forms of degradation. An alternative is to grow appropriate electrode nanoarchitectures under operationally relevant conditions, for example, via redox exsolution. Here we describe the growth of a finely dispersed array of anchored metal nanoparticles on an oxide electrode through electrochemical poling of a SOC at 2 volts for a few seconds. These electrode structures perform well as both fuel cells and electrolysis cells (for example, at 900 °C they deliver 2 watts per square centimetre of power in humidified hydrogen gas, and a current of 2.75 amps per square centimetre at 1.3 volts in 50% water/nitrogen gas). The nanostructures and corresponding electrochemical activity do not degrade in 150 hours of testing. These results not only prove that in operando methods can yield emergent nanomaterials, which in turn deliver exceptional performance, but also offer proof of concept that electrolysis and fuel cells can be unified in a single, high-performance, versatile and easily manufactured device. This opens up the possibility of simple, almost instantaneous production of highly active nanostructures for reinvigorating SOCs during operation
Generalized entropy arising from a distribution of q-indices
It is by now well known that the Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) entropy
can be usefully generalized into the
entropy (). Microscopic dynamics determines, given classes of initial
conditions, the occupation of the accessible phase space (or of a
symmetry-determined nonzero-measure part of it), which in turn appears to
determine the entropic form to be used. This occupation might be a uniform one
(the usual {\it equal probability hypothesis} of BG statistical mechanics),
which corresponds to ; it might be a free-scale occupancy, which appears
to correspond to . Since occupancies of phase space more complex than
these are surely possible in both natural and artificial systems, the task of
further generalizing the entropy appears as a desirable one, and has in fact
been already undertaken in the literature. To illustrate the approach, we
introduce here a quite general entropy based on a distribution of -indices
thus generalizing . We establish some general mathematical properties for
the new entropic functional and explore some examples. We also exhibit a
procedure for finding, given any entropic functional, the -indices
distribution that produces it. Finally, on the road to establishing a quite
general statistical mechanics, we briefly address possible generalized
constraints under which the present entropy could be extremized, in order to
produce canonical-ensemble-like stationary-state distributions for Hamiltonian
systems.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure
Phase diagram of two-lane driven diffusive systems
We consider a large class of two-lane driven diffusive systems in contact
with reservoirs at their boundaries and develop a stability analysis as a
method to derive the phase diagrams of such systems. We illustrate the method
by deriving phase diagrams for the asymmetric exclusion process coupled to
various second lanes: a diffusive lane; an asymmetric exclusion process with
advection in the same direction as the first lane, and an asymmetric exclusion
process with advection in the opposite direction. The competing currents on the
two lanes naturally lead to a very rich phenomenology and we find a variety of
phase diagrams. It is shown that the stability analysis is equivalent to an
`extremal current principle' for the total current in the two lanes. We also
point to classes of models where both the stability analysis and the extremal
current principle fail
Nonextensivity of the cyclic Lattice Lotka Volterra model
We numerically show that the Lattice Lotka-Volterra model, when realized on a
square lattice support, gives rise to a {\it finite} production, per unit time,
of the nonextensive entropy . This finiteness only occurs for for the growth mode
(growing droplet), and for for the one (growing stripe). This
strong evidence of nonextensivity is consistent with the spontaneous emergence
of local domains of identical particles with fractal boundaries and competing
interactions. Such direct evidence is for the first time exhibited for a
many-body system which, at the mean field level, is conservative.Comment: Latex, 6 pages, 5 figure
Dynamics at barriers in bidirectional two-lane exclusion processes
A two-lane exclusion process is studied where particles move in the two lanes
in opposite directions and are able to change lanes. The focus is on the steady
state behavior in situations where a positive current is constrained to an
extended subsystem (either by appropriate boundary conditions or by the
embedding environment) where, in the absence of the constraint, the current
would be negative. We have found two qualitatively different types of steady
states and formulated the conditions of them in terms of the transition rates.
In the first type of steady state, a localized cluster of particles forms with
an anti-shock located in the subsystem and the current vanishes exponentially
with the extension of the subsystem. This behavior is analogous to that of the
one-lane partially asymmetric simple exclusion process, and can be realized
e.g. when the local drive is induced by making the jump rates in two lanes
unequal. In the second type of steady state, which is realized e.g. if the
local drive is induced purely by the bias in the lane change rates, and which
has thus no counterpart in the one-lane model, a delocalized cluster of
particles forms which performs a diffusive motion as a whole and, as a
consequence, the current vanishes inversely proportionally to the extension of
the subsystem. The model is also studied in the presence of quenched
disordered, where, in case of delocalization, phenomenological considerations
predict anomalously slow, logarithmic decay of the current with the system size
in contrast with the usual power-law.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figure
Sign flipping of spontaneous polarization in vapour-deposited films of small polar organic molecules
Co-existence in the two-dimensional May-Leonard model with random rates
We employ Monte Carlo simulations to numerically study the temporal evolution
and transient oscillations of the population densities, the associated
frequency power spectra, and the spatial correlation functions in the
(quasi-)steady state in two-dimensional stochastic May--Leonard models of
mobile individuals, allowing for particle exchanges with nearest-neighbors and
hopping onto empty sites. We therefore consider a class of four-state
three-species cyclic predator-prey models whose total particle number is not
conserved. We demonstrate that quenched disorder in either the reaction or in
the mobility rates hardly impacts the dynamical evolution, the emergence and
structure of spiral patterns, or the mean extinction time in this system. We
also show that direct particle pair exchange processes promote the formation of
regular spiral structures. Moreover, upon increasing the rates of mobility, we
observe a remarkable change in the extinction properties in the May--Leonard
system (for small system sizes): (1) As the mobility rate exceeds a threshold
that separates a species coexistence (quasi-)steady state from an absorbing
state, the mean extinction time as function of system size N crosses over from
a functional form ~ e^{cN} / N (where c is a constant) to a linear dependence;
(2) the measured histogram of extinction times displays a corresponding
crossover from an (approximately) exponential to a Gaussian distribution. The
latter results are found to hold true also when the mobility rates are randomly
distributed.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; to appear in Eur. Phys. J. B (2011
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