Rate equation approach to the late stages of cluster ripening

Off-critical phase separation processes are frequently described in literat ure on the basis of a set of rate equations describing the change rate of n umber of clusters of given size. This approach works very well for nucleati on, but computational limitations and the complexity of processes impede it s applicability in the early stages of cluster growth. Late stage clusterin g in mass conserved systems, which starts much later during the evolution o f the morphology of the system, is well understood on the basis of the Lifs hitz-Slyozov-Wagner (LSW) theory. In this paper both concepts are connected analytically, showing that identical predictions resulted for the same (si mplified) assumptions. Significance of the equivalency of both models has b een further explored, particularly in bridging the early stage of clusterin g, which is not well understood. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.