Study of the Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn model. The influence of an oscillatory driving field

The classic Katz-Lebowitz-Spohn (KLS) model is a lattice gas driven by an e xternal field. In this paper, we study the critical behavior of the KLS mod el driven by an oscillatory field of strength E and period tau by means of both, Monte Carlo simulations and a coupled-map-lattice mean-field approach . It is found that, keeping the amplitude constant and changing the period, a novel phase transition between a non-equilibrium-stationary-state and an almost equilibrium-stationary-state takes place at a certain critical valu e tau(c). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.