Exchange of stability as a function of system size in a nonequilibrium   system
  In equilibrium systems with short-ranged interactions, the relative stability of different thermodynamic states generally does not depend on system size (as long as this size is larger than the interaction range). Here, we use a large deviations approach to show that, in contrast, different states can exchange stability as system size is varied in a driven, bistable reaction-diffusion system. This striking effect is related to a shift from a spatially uniform to a nonuniform transition state and should generically be possible in a wide range of nonequilibrium physical and biological systems. 
Sorin Tanase-Nicola and David K. Lubensky
cond-mat.stat-mech physics.chem-ph q-bio.MN