Critical dynamics in thin films (Q852046)

The authors set up the field-theoretical description of the purely relaxational dynamics in film geometry with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The static universality class of systems with a \(N\)-component order parameter and \(O(N)\)-symmetric interaction is considered, such as the Ising model \((N=1)\) or the isotropic \(XY\) (\(N=2\)) and Heisenberg \((N=3)\). The universal scaling functions for dynamic Gaussian linear response and correlation functions are derived and studied. The effects of the time-dependent fields are discussed on the fluctuation-induced Casimir force acting on the confining walls of the system, providing analytic expressions for the associated Gaussian scaling functions. The nonlinear relaxation of the order parameter is analyzed at the bulk critical point of the model and the crossover between bulk-like, surface-like and eventual linear relaxation is emphasized. The considered model is relevant to the critical dynamics of actual uniaxial ferromagnetic films with symmetry-preserving conditions at the confining surfaces and for Monte Carlo simulations of spin system with Glauber dynamics and free boundary conditions. Most of the computation details are carried out in Appendicies.