Groupe de Physique Statistique

The pair-contact process 2A --> 3A, 2A --> A with diffusion of individual particles is a simple branching-annihilation process which exhibits a phase transition from an active to an absorbing phase with an unusual type of critical behaviour which had not been seen before. Although the model has attracted considerable interest during the past few years, it is not yet clear how its critical behaviour can be characterized and to what extent the diffusive paircontact process represents an independent universality class. Recent research is reviewed and some standing open questions are outlined.