We investigate the lifetime distribution P(tau, t) in one and two dimension
al coarsening processes modelled by Ising-Glauber dynamics at zero temperat
ure. The lifetime tau is defined as the time that elapses between two succe
ssive flips in the time interval (0,t) or between the last flip and the obs
ervation time t. We calculate P(tau, t) averaged over all the spins in the
system and over several initial disorder configurations. We find that asymp
totically the lifetime distribution obeys a scaling ansatz: P(tau, t) = t(-
1) phi(xi), where xi = tau /t. The scaling function phi(xi) is singular at
xi = 0 and 1, mainly due to slow dynamics and persistence. An independent l
ifetime model where the lifetimes arc sampled From a distribution with powe
r law tail is presented, which predicts analytically the qualitative featur
es of the scaling function. The need for going beyond the independent lifet
ime models for predicting the scaling function for the Ising-Glauber system
s is indicated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.