A Matrix Method of Solving an Asymmetric Exclusion Model with Open Boundaries

Asymmetric exclusion models are systems of particles hopping in a preferred direction with hard core interactions. Exact expressions for the average occupations and correlation functions have previously been derived in the one dimensional fully asymmetric case with open boundaries. Here we present a more direct route to these expressions that allows generalisation to other cases. This new approach is based on representing the weights of each configuration in the steady state as a product of non-commuting matrices.