The exact solution of the asymmetric exclusion problem with particles of arbitrary size:: Matrix product Ansatz

The exact solution of the asymmetric exclusion problem and several of its generalizations is obtained by a matrix product ansatz. Due to the similarity of the master equation and the Schrodinger equation at imaginary times the solution of these problems reduces to the diagonalization of a one dimensional quantum Hamiltonian. Initially, we present the solution of the problem when an arbitrary mixture of molecules, each of then having an arbitrary size (s = 0, 1, 2....) in units of lattice spacing, diffuses asymmetrically on the lattice. The solution of the more general problem where we have the diffusion of particles belonging to N distinct classes of particles (c = 1,...,N), with hierarchical order and arbitrary sizes, is also presented. Our matrix product ansatz asserts that the amplitudes of an arbitrary eigenfunction of the associated quantum Hamiltonian can be expressed by a product of matrices. The algebraic properties of the matrices defining the ansatz depend on the particular associated Hamiltonian. The absence of contradictions in the algebraic relations defining the algebra ensures the exact integrability of the model. In the case of particles distributed in N > 2 classes, the associativity of this algebra implies the Yang-Baxter relations of the exact integrable model.