Jamming transition in a driven lattice gas

We study a two- lane driven lattice gas model with oppositely directed species of particles moving on two periodic lanes with correlated lane switching processes. While the overall density of individual species of particles is conserved in this system, the particles are allowed to switch lanes with finite probability only when oppositely directed species meet on the same lane. This system exhibits a unique behavior, wherein phase transition is observed between a homogeneous absorbing phase, characterized by complete segregation of oppositely directed particles between the two lanes, and a jammed phase. The transition is accompanied by a finite drop of current in the lattice, emergence of a cluster comprised of both species of particles in the jammed phase, and is determined by the interplay of the relative rates of translation of particles on the same lane and their lane switching rates. These findings may have interesting implications for understanding the phenomenon of jamming in microtubule filaments observed in the context of axonal transport. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2014