Steady-state properties of hard objects with exclusion interaction and a driven motion along a one-dimensional periodic lattice are investigated. The process is a generalization of the asymmetric simple exclusion process (ASEP) to particles of length $k$, and is called the $k$-ASEP. Here, we analyze both static and dynamic properties of the $k$-ASEP. Density correlations are found to display interesting features, such as pronounced oscillations in both space and time, as a consequence of the extended length of the particles. At long times, the density autocorrelation decays exponentially in time, except at a special $k$-dependent density when it decays as a power law. In the limit of large $k$ at a finite density of occupied sites, the appropriately scaled system reduces to a nonequilibrium generalization of the Tonks gas describing the motion of hard rods along a continuous line. This allows us to obtain in a simple way the known two-particle distribution for the Tonks gas. For large but finite $k$, we also obtain the leading-order correction to the Tonks result.

• Received 20 June 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.84.041102