Dynamics versus energetics in phase separation

Abstract: Phase separation may be driven by the minimization of a suitable free energy

c a l F

. This is the case, e.g., for diblock copolimer melts, where

c a l F

is minimized by a steady periodic pattern whose wavelength

l a m b d a_{G S}

depends on the segregation strength

a l p h a^{- 1}

and it is know since long time that in one spatial dimension

l a m b d a_{G S} s i m e q a l p h a^{- 1 / 3}

. Here we study in details the dynamics of the system in 1D for different initial conditions and by varying

a l p h a

by five orders of magnitude. We find that, depending on the initial state, the final configuration may have a wavelength

l a m b d a_{D}

with

l a m b d a_{m i n} (a l p h a) < l a m b d a_{D} < l a m b d a_{m a x} (a l p h a)

, where

l a m b d a_{m i n} a p p r o x l n (1 / a l p h a)

and

l a m b d a_{m a x} a p p r o x a l p h a^{- 1 / 2}

. In particular, if the initial state is homogeneous, the system exhibits a logarithmic coarsening process which arrests whenever

l a m b d a_{D} a p p r o x l a m b d a_{m i n}

.

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