title: Symmetry breaking and phase coexistence in a driven diffusive two-channel system.
abstract: We consider classical hard-core particles moving on two parallel chains in the same direction. An interaction between the channels is included via the hopping rates. For a ring, the stationary state has a product form. For the case of coupling to two reservoirs, it is investigated analytically and numerically. In addition to the known one-channel phases, two new regions are found, in particular one, where the total density is fixed, but the filling of the individual chains changes back and forth, with a preference for strongly different densities. The corresponding probability distribution is determined and shown to have a universal form. The phase diagram and general aspects of the problem are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, Germany.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Popkov
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Peschel