Generic nonequilibrium steady states in an exclusion process on an inhomogeneous ring

Abstract

We consider a one-dimensional totally asymmetric exclusion process on a ring with extended inhomogeneities, consisting of several segments with different hopping rates. Depending upon the underlying inhomogeneity configurations and for moderate densities, our model displays both localised (LDW) and delocalised (DDW) domain walls and delocalisation transitions of LDWs in the steady states. Our results allow us to construct the possible steady state density profiles for an arbitrary number of segments with unequal hopping rates. We explore the scaling properties of the fluctuations of LDWs and DDWs.