title: Observation and modeling of interrupted pattern coarsening: surface nanostructuring by ion erosion.
abstract: We report the experimental observation of interrupted coarsening for surface self-organized nanostructuring by ion erosion. Analysis of the target surface by atomic force microscopy allows us to describe quantitatively this intriguing type of pattern dynamics through a continuum equation put forward in different contexts across a wide range of length scales. The ensuing predictions can thus be consistently extended to other experimental conditions in our system. Our results illustrate the occurrence of nonequilibrium systems in which pattern formation, coarsening, and kinetic roughening appear, each of these behaviors being associated with its own spatiotemporal range.
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Ireland and Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muñoz-García
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gago
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: José Angel
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sánchez-García
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cuerno