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

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.