Abstract
While originally discovered in the context of the Gaussian unitary ensemble, the Tracy-Widom distribution also rules the height fluctuations of growth processes. This suggests that there might be other nonequilibrium processes in which the Tracy-Widom distribution plays an important role. In our contribution we study one-dimensional systems with domain wall initial conditions. For an appropriate choice of parameters, the profile develops a rarefaction wave while maintaining the initial equilibrium states far to the left and right, which thus serve as infinitely extended thermal reservoirs. For a Fermi-Pasta-Ulam type anharmonic chain, we will demonstrate that the time-integrated current has a deterministic contribution, linear in time , and fluctuations of size with a Tracy-Widom distributed random amplitude.
- Received 20 December 2015
- Revised 13 May 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.93.060101
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