Steady-state properties of a totally asymmetric exclusion process with periodic structure.

We study the steady-state behavior of totally asymmetric simple exclusion processes (TASEPs) that contain periodically varying movement rates. In this model, particles move to the right at one of two rates: p(2) if the particle occupies one of a periodically arranged set of lattice sites; p(1) otherwise. Approximate mean field approaches are used to study the steady-state currents and bulk densities of this model. These mean field methods are found to provide results in good agreement with data derived from Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, the condition for particle-hole symmetry in the TASEP with periodically varying movement rates is specified, and the changes in the locations of the boundary-limited to maximal-current transition lines due to symmetry violation are investigated.