Changing growth conditions during surface growth.
Motivated by a series of experiments that revealed a temperature dependence of the dynamic scaling regime of growing surfaces, we investigate theoretically how a nonequilibrium growth process reacts to a sudden change of system parameters. We discuss quenches between correlated regimes through exact expressions derived from the stochastic Edwards-Wilkinson equation with a variable diffusion constant. Our study reveals that a sudden change of the diffusion constant leads to remarkable changes in the surface roughness. Different dynamic regimes, characterized by a power-law or by an exponential relaxation, are identified, and a dynamic phase diagram is constructed. We conclude that growth processes provide one of the rare instances where quenches between correlated regimes yield a power-law relaxation.
Chou
Yen-Liang
YL
Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0435, USA.
Pleimling
Michel
M
Zia
R K P
RK
D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D013499:Surface Properties
D046911:Macromolecular Substances