Exact solution of the zero-range process: fundamental diagram of the corresponding exclusion process

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a general way of computing expectation values in the zero-range process (ZRP), using an exact form of the partition function. As an example, we provide the fundamental diagram (the flux–density plot) of the asymmetric exclusion process corresponding to the ZRP. We express the partition function for the steady state by the Lauricella hypergeometric function, and thereby have two exact fundamental diagrams each for the parallel and random sequential update rules. Meanwhile, from the viewpoint of equilibrium statistical mechanics, we work within the canonical ensemble but the result obtained is certainly in agreement with previous works done in the grand-canonical ensemble.