MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION OF DOMAIN GROWTH-KINETICS IN THE Q-STATE FERROMAGNETIC POTTS-MODEL

A Monte Carlo procedure is applied to the study of the kinetics of low and high-Q Potts models on surfaces quenched from a high temperature (T much greater than T-c) to low temperatures (T < T-c). The kinetics of these models are analyzed in simulations which yield the time depen dence of the size and shape of the domains. Pinning effects in systems with Q greater than or equal to 3 lead to extremely slow kinetics for particular domain geometries. Low-temperature quenches on a triangula r lattice indicate that these pinned geometries are rarely nucleated, while quenches on a square lattice equilibrate much mon slowly due to pinning. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.