Coarsening dynamics of a quasi–one-dimensional driven lattice gas

Center for Stochastic Processes in Science and Engineering, Physics Department Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Blacksburg, VA 24061-0435, USA

Received: 7 January 2002
Accepted: 14 March 2002

Abstract

We study domain growth properties of two species of particles executing biased diffusion on a half-filled square lattice, consisting of just two lanes. Driven in opposite directions by an external “electric” field, the particles form clusters due to steric hindrance. While strictly one-dimensional systems remain disordered, clusters in our “quasi-1D” case grow until only a single macroscopic cluster survives. In the coarsening regime, the average cluster size increases significantly faster than in purely diffusion-controlled systems, with an effective exponent of at least 0.6. Remarkably, however, the cluster size distribution displays dynamic scaling, following a form consistent with a diffusion-limited growth mechanism.