Disordered driven lattice gases with boundary reservoirs and Langmuir kinetics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how inhomogeneities affect the behavior of a driven lattice gas model with boundary reservoirs and Langmuir kinetics, revealing complex phase coexistence and current profiles through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces the study of disordered inhomogeneities in a driven lattice gas with Langmuir kinetics, providing insights into phase behavior and current profiles.

Findings

Multiple coexisting high- and low-density domains

Generic behavior for one-dimensional driven diffusive systems

Local extremal principle explains current profiles

Abstract

The asymmetric simple exclusion process with additional Langmuir kinetics, i.e. attachment and detachment in the bulk, is a paradigmatic model for intracellular transport. Here we study this model in the presence of randomly distributed inhomogeneities ('defects'). Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find a multitude of coexisting high- and low-density domains. The results are generic for one-dimensional driven diffusive systems with short-range interactions and can be understood in terms of a local extremal principle for the current profile. This principle is used to determine current profiles and phase diagrams as well as statistical properties of ensembles of defect samples.