arXiv:cond-mat/9805385 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General
Slow coarsening in an Ising chain with competing interactions
S. Redner, P. L. Krapivsky
Abstract
We investigate the zero-temperature coarsening dynamics of a chain of Ising spins with a nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic and an n th-neighbour antiferromagnetic interactions. For sufficiently large antiferromagnetic interaction, the ground state consists of n consecutive up spins followed by n down spins, etc. We show that the asymptotic coarsening into this ground state can be described in terms of a multispecies reactive gas of elementary excitations. The basic elementary excitations are identified and each decays at a different power-law rate in time. The dominant excitations are domains of n + 1 spins which diffuse freely and disappear through processes which are effectively governed by ( n + 1)-particle annihilation. This leads to a slow temporal approach to the ground state.