Saito, Nen, and Kunihiko Kaneko. “Theoretical analysis of discreteness-induced transition in autocatalytic reaction dynamics.” Physical Review E 91, no. 2 (2015): 022707.
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Transitions in the qualitative behavior of chemical reaction dynamics with a decrease in molecule number have attracted much attention. Here, a method based on a Markov process with a tridiagonal transition matrix is applied to the analysis of this transition in reaction dynamics. The transition to bistability due to the small-number effect and the mean switching time between the bistable states are analytically calculated in agreement with numerical simulations. In addition, a novel transition involving the reversal of the chemical reaction flow is found in the model under an external flow, and also in a three-component model. The generality of this transition and its correspondence to biological phenomena are also discussed.