Boundary fluctuation dynamics of a phase-separated domain in planar geometry

Abstract

Using theories of phase ordering kinetics and of renormalization group, we derive analytically the relaxation times of the long wave-length fluctuations of a phase-separated domain boundary in the vicinity of (and below) the critical temperature, in the planar Ising universality class. For a conserved order parameter, the relaxation time grows like $\Lambda^3$ at wave-length $\Lambda$ and can be expressed in terms of parameters relevant at the microscopic scale: lattice spacing, bulk diffusion coefficient of the minority phase, and temperature. These results are supported by numerical simulations of 2D Ising models, enabling in addition to calculate the non-universal numerical prefactor. We discuss the applications of these findings to the determination of the real time-scale associated with elementary Monte Carlo moves from the measurement of long wave-length relaxation times on experimental systems or Molecular Dynamics simulations.