Models solvable through the empty-interval method

The most general one dimensional reaction-diffusion model with nearest-neighbor interactions solvable through the empty interval method, and without any restriction on the particle-generation from two adjacent empty sites is studied. It is shown that turning on the reactions which generate particles from two adjacent empty sites, results in a gap in the spectrum of the evolution operator (or equivalently a finite relaxation time). Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2005