SHORT-TIME SCALING BEHAVIOR OF GROWING INTERFACES

The short-time evolution of a growing interface is studied within the framework of the dynamic renormalization-group approach for the Kadar- Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation and for an idealized continuum model of mo lecular-beam epitaxy. The scaling behavior of response and correlation functions is reminiscent of the ''initial slip'' behavior found in pu rely dissipative critical relaxation (model A) and critical relaxation with conserved order parameter (model B), respectively. Unlike model A the initial slip exponent for the KPZ equation can be expressed by t he dynamical exponent z. In 1+1 dimensions, for which z is known exact ly, the analytical theory for the KPZ equation is confirmed by a Monte Carlo simulation of a simple ballistic deposition model. In 2+1 dimen sions z is estimated from the short-time evolution of the correlation function.