Metastable states and phase ordering dynamics

In attempting to explain the onset of anomalous phase ordering kinetics in colloid-polymer mixtures, we show how the presence of a metastable phase ca n disrupt two-phase separation. In a region of the phase diagram with a sha rp and reproducible boundary, formation of the equilibrium crystal phase is suppressed. Responsibility may lie with the metastable liquid phase, which "smothers" crystalline condensation nuclei. The simple continuum model use d mimics some of the behaviour observed in colloid-polymer mixtures, and ha s implications for many other soft, condensed systems.