Boundary-Induced Phase Transitions in Equilibrium and Non-Equilibrium Systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates how boundary conditions induce phase transitions in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems, using quantum Hamiltonian methods and Bethe ansatz to analyze the asymmetric simple exclusion process and related vertex models.

Contribution

It demonstrates the universality of boundary-induced phase transitions across equilibrium and non-equilibrium systems through exact solutions.

Findings

Boundary defects cause phase transitions in exclusion processes.

Boundary-induced transitions belong to the same universality class as bulk transitions.

The model maps onto an XXZ quantum chain solved by Bethe ansatz.

Abstract

Boundary conditions may change the phase diagram of non-equilibrium statistical systems like the one-dimensional asymmetric simple exclusion process with and without particle number conservation. Using the quantum Hamiltonian approach, the model is mapped onto an XXZ quantum chain and solved using the Bethe ansatz. This system is related to a two-dimensional vertex model in thermal equilibrium. The phase transition caused by a point-like boundary defect in the dynamics of the one-dimensional exclusion model is in the same universality class as a continous (bulk) phase transition of the two-dimensional vertex model caused by a line defect at its boundary. (hep-th/yymmnnn)