Corrections to late-stage behavior in spinodal decomposition: Lifshitz-Slyozov scaling and Monte Carlo simulations

The Lifshitz-Slyozov theory of the late stages of diffusion-limited spinodal decomposition (Ostwald ripening) is generalized to apply for arbitrary volume fractions of the two phases. Corrections to the asymptotic R(t)they are due to excess transport in interfaces and are therefore of relative order R-1(t), where R(t) is the average domain size. That the asymptotic exponent (1/3) has not been observed in Monte Carlo simulations of Ising models can be attributed to such corrections. Further simulations of the square-lattice Ising model are performed: The results are consistent with the generalization of the Lifshitz-Slyozov theory. The recent work of Mazenko et al. that proposes instead R(t)logt is criticized.