Generalized mean-field study of a driven lattice gas

A generalized mean-field analysis has been performed to study the ordering process in a half-filled square lattice-gas model with repulsive nearest-neighbor interaction under the influence of a uniform electric field. We have determined the configuration probabilities on two-, four-, five-, and six-point clusters, excluding the possibility of sublattice ordering. The agreement between the results of six-point approximations and Monte Carlo simulations confirms the absence of phase transition for sufficiently strong fields. {} 1996 The American Physical Society.