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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

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An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Dynamical phase transition of a one-dimensional transport process including death
S Dorosz1, S Mukherjee, T Platini
1Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
Summary
This study models fungus growth and corrosion using a modified exclusion process. A phase transition is observed, impacting particle movement and system states.
Area of Science:
- Statistical Mechanics
- Mathematical Biology
- Complex Systems
Background:
- Fungus growth exhibits complex dynamics, involving both expansion and degradation.
- Understanding these processes can be modeled using physical systems like particle-based simulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay between growth and corrosion using a modified totally asymmetric exclusion process.
- To analyze the system's behavior under varying injection (alpha) and death (delta) probabilities.
Main Methods:
- Modification of the totally asymmetric exclusion process (TASEP).
- Inclusion of particle injection (alpha) and particle death (delta) probabilities.
- Analysis of system dynamics for parallel and sequential updates.
Main Results:
- A phase transition occurs at a critical death probability, delta_c(alpha).
- Above delta_c, a nonequilibrium stationary state is achieved.
- Below delta_c, the system exhibits low-density and maximum current phases.
- The average position of the last particle L scales as sqrt[t].
Conclusions:
- The modified TASEP effectively models the competition between growth and corrosion.
- The system's behavior is highly sensitive to the death probability, leading to distinct phases.
- Density and current profiles show characteristic scaling behaviors depending on update methods.
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