Zero-current Nonequilibrium State in Symmetric Exclusion Process with Dichotomous Stochastic Resetting

Abstract: We study the dynamics of symmetric exclusion process (SEP) in the presence of stochastic resetting to two possible specific configurations -- with rate $r_1$ (respectively, $r_2$) the system is reset to a step-like configuration where all the particles are clustered in the left (respectively, right) half of the system. We show that this dichotomous resetting leads to a range of rich behaviour, both dynamical and in the stationary state. We calculate the exact stationary profile in the presence of this dichotomous resetting and show that the diffusive current grows linearly in time, but unlike the resetting to a single configuration, the current can have negative average value in this case. For $r_1=r_2,$ the average current vanishes, and density profile becomes flat in the stationary state, similar to the equilibrium SEP. However, the system remains far from equilibrium and we characterize the nonequilibrium signatures of this `zero-current state'. We show that both the spatial and temporal density correlations in this zero-current state are radically different than in equilibrium SEP. We also study the behaviour of this zero-current state under an external perturbation and demonstrate that its response differs drastically from that of equilibrium SEP -- while a small driving field generates a current which grows as $\sqrt{t}$ in the absence of resetting, the zero-current state in the presence of dichotomous resetting shows a current $\sim t$ under the same perturbation.