An interface phase transition induced by a driven line in 2D

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a localized drive along a line in a 2D Ising model causes a phase transition in the interface, leading to symmetry breaking and finite interface width, analyzed through a kinetic model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel study of interface behavior under localized drive, revealing spontaneous symmetry breaking and finite interface width in a 2D kinetic Ising model.

Findings

Drive induces spontaneous symmetry breaking of the interface.

The interface width becomes finite under drive.

Non-symmetric fluctuations around the driven ring.

Abstract

The effect of a localized drive on the steady state of an interface separating two phases in coexistence is studied. This is done using a spin conserving kinetic Ising model on a two dimensional lattice with cylindrical boundary conditions, where a drive is applied along a single ring on which the interface separating the two phases is centered. The drive is found to induce an interface spontaneous symmetry breaking whereby the magnetization of the driven ring becomes non-zero. The width of the interface becomes finite and its fluctuations around the driven ring are non-symmetric. The dynamical origin of these properties is analyzed in an adiabatic limit which allows the evaluation of the large deviation function of the driven-ring magnetization.