Nonequilibrium phase transition in single-file transport at high crowding

Abstract

Driven particle transport in crowded and confining environments is fundamental to diverse phenomena across physics, chemistry, and biology. A main objective in studying such systems is to identify novel emergent states and phases of collective dynamics. Here, we report on a nonequilibrium phase transition occurring in periodic structures at high particle densities. This transition separates a weak-current phase of thermally activated transport from a high-current phase of solitary wave propagation. It is reflected also in a change of universality classes characterizing correlations of particle current fluctuations. Our findings demonstrate that sudden changes to high current states can occur when increasing particle densities beyond critical values.