Anomalous nucleation far from equilibrium

Abstract

We present precision Monte Carlo data and analytic arguments for an asymmetric exclusion process, involving two species of particles driven in opposite directions on a $2 \times L$ lattice. We propose a scenario which resolves a stark discrepancy between earlier simulation data, suggesting the existence of an ordered phase, and an analytic conjecture according to which the system should revert to a disordered state in the thermodynamic limit. By analyzing the finite size effects in detail, we argue that the presence of a single, seemingly macroscopic, cluster is an intermediate stage of a complex nucleation process: In smaller systems, this cluster is destabilized while larger systems allow the formation of multiple clusters. Both limits lead to exponential cluster size distributions which are, however, controlled by very different length scales.