Phase Transitions in Driven Bilayer Systems: A Monte Carlo Study

Abstract

We investigate the phase diagram of a system with two layers of an Ising lattice gas at half filling. In addition to the usual intralayer nearest neighbor attractive interaction, there is an interlayer potential $J$. Under equilibrium conditions, the phase diagram is symmetric under $J\to -J$, though the ground states are different. The effects of imposing a uniform external drive, studied by simulation techniques, are dramatic. The mechanisms responsible for such behavior are discussed.