Numerical study of late-stage coarsening for off-critical quenches in the Cahn-Hilliard equation of phase separation

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Abstract
Off-critical quenches of a two-dimensional system with a continuous, conserved order parameter are studied numerically. Domain growth and scaling are investigated by monitoring several measures of the morphology. For quenches within the mean-field spinodal, circular domains coarsen through an evaporation-condensation mechanism. The dynamics of this process are compared with the theory of Lifshitz and Slyosov. Surface smoothening plays an important role for nearly critical quenches and extends the timescale for the onset of self similar growth.