title: Geometrical properties of the Potts model during the coarsening regime.
abstract: We study the dynamic evolution of geometric structures in a polydegenerate system represented by a q-state Potts model with nonconserved order parameter that is quenched from its disordered into its ordered phase. The numerical results obtained with Monte Carlo simulations show a strong relation between the statistical properties of hull perimeters in the initial state and during coarsening: The statistics and morphology of the structures that are larger than the averaged ones are those of the initial state, while the ones of small structures are determined by the curvature-driven dynamic process. We link the hull properties to the ones of the areas they enclose. We analyze the linear von Neumann-Mullins law, both for individual domains and on the average, concluding that its validity, for the later case, is limited to domains with number of sides around 6, while presenting stronger violations in the former case.
authors.affiliation: Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris VI, LPTHE UMR 7589, 4 Place Jussieu, FR-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Marcos P O
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Loureiro
authors.forename: Jeferson J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Arenzon
authors.forename: Leticia F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Cugliandolo
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015233:Models, Statistical