Phase transition in annihilation-limited processes

A system of particles is studied in which the stochastic processes are one-particle type-change (or one-particle diffusion) and multi-particle annihilation. It is shown that, if the annihilation rate tends to zero but the initial values of the average number of the particles tend to infinity, so that the annihilation rate times a certain power of the initial values of the average number of the particles remain constant (the double scaling) then if the initial state of the system is a multi-Poisson distribution, the system always remains in a state of multi-Poisson distribution, but with evolving parameters. The large time behavior of the system is also investigated. The system exhibits a dynamical phase transition. It is seen that for a k-particle annihilation, if k is larger than a critical value k<Subscript>c</Subscript>, which is determined by the type-change rates, then annihilation does not enter the relaxation exponent of the system; while for k > k<Subscript>c</Subscript>, it is the annihilation (in fact k itself) which determines the relaxation exponent. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007