Finite size scaling of current fluctuations in the totally asymmetric exclusion process

Abstract

We study the fluctuations of the current J(t) of the totally asymmetric exclusion process with open boundaries. Using a density matrix renormalization group approach, we calculate the cumulant generating function of the current. This function can be interpreted as a free energy for an ensemble in which histories are weighted by exp(-sJ(t)). We show that in this ensemble the model has a first-order spacetime phase transition at s = 0. We numerically determine the finite size scaling of the cumulant generating function near this phase transition, both in the non-equilibrium steady state and for large times.