AN EXACTLY SOLUBLE NONEQUILIBRIUM SYSTEM - THE ASYMMETRIC SIMPLE EXCLUSION PROCESS

A number of exact results have been obtained recently for the one-dime nsional asymmetric simple exclusion process, a model of particles whic h hop to their right at random times, on a one-dimensional lattice, pr ovided that the target site is empty. Using either a matrix form for t he steady-state weights or the Bethe ansatz, several steady-state prop erties can be calculated exactly: the current, the density profile for open boundary conditions, the diffusion constant of a tagged particle . The matrix form of the steady state can be extended to calculate exa ctly the steady state of systems of two species of particles and shock profiles. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.