Dynamic scaling in vacancy-mediated disordering

Abstract

We consider the disordering dynamics of an interacting binary alloy with a small admixture of vacancies which mediate atom-atom exchanges. Starting from a perfectly phase-segregated state, the system is rapidly heated to a temperature in the disordered phase. A suitable disorder parameter, namely, the number of broken bonds, is monitored as a function of time. Using Monte Carlo simulations and a coarse-grained field theory, we show that the late stages of this process exhibit dynamic scaling, characterized by a set of scaling functions and exponents. We discuss the universality of these exponents and comment on some subtleties in the early stages of the disordering process.