Coarsening Dynamics of a Quasi One-dimensional Driven Lattice Gas

Abstract

We study domain growth properties of two species of particles executing biased diffusion on a half-filled square lattice, consisting of just two lanes. Driven in opposite directions by an external ``electric'' field, the particles form clusters due to steric hindrance. While strictly one-dimensional systems remain disordered, clusters in our ``quasi 1D'' case grow until only a single macroscopic cluster survives. In the coarsening regime, the average cluster size increases $\sim t^{0.6}$, significantly faster than in purely diffusion-controlled systems. Remarkably, however, the cluster size distribution displays dynamic scaling, following a form consistent with a diffusion-limited growth mechanism.