Exact scaling in competitive growth models

Edwards-Wilkinson depinning transition in fractional Brownian motion background

There are various reports about the critical exponents associated with the depinning transition. In this study, we investigate how the disorder strength present in the support can account for this diversity. Specifically, we examine the depinning transition in the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson (QEW) model on a correlated square lattice, where the correlations are modeled using fractional Brownian motion (FBM) with a Hurst exponent of H.We identify a crossover time [Formula: see text] that separates the dynamics into two distinct regimes: for [Formula: see text], we observe the typical behavior of pinned surfaces, while for [Formula: see text], the behavior differs. We introduce a novel three-variable scaling function that governs the depinning transition for all considered H values. The associated critical exponents exhibit a continuous variation with H, displaying distinct behaviors for anti-correlated ([Formula: see text]) and correlated ([Formula: see text]) cases. The critical driving force decreases with increasing H, as the host medium becomes smoother for higher H values, facilitating fluid mobility. This fact causes the asymptotic velocity exponent [Formula: see text] to increase monotonically with H.

Edwards-Wilkinson depinning transition in random Coulomb potential background

The quenched Edwards-Wilkinson growth of the 1+1 interface is considered in the background of the correlated random noise. We use random Coulomb potential as the background long-range correlated noise. A depinning transition is observed in a critical driving force F[over ̃]_{c}≈0.037 (in terms of disorder strength unit) in the vicinity of which the final velocity of the interface varies linearly with time. Our data collapse analysis for the velocity shows a crossover time t^{*} at which the velocity is size independent. Based on a two-variable scaling analysis, we extract the exponents, which are different from all universality classes we are aware of. Especially noting that the dynamic and roughness exponents are z_{w}=1.55±0.05, and α_{w}=1.05±0.05 at the criticality, we conclude that the system is different from both Edwards-Wilkinson (EW) and Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality classes. Our analysis shows therefore that making the noise long-range correlated, drives the system out of the EW universality class. The simulations on the tilted lattice show that the nonlinearity term (λ term in the KPZ equations) goes to zero in the thermodynamic limit.

Kinetic roughening and porosity scaling in film growth with subsurface lateral aggregation

We study surface and bulk properties of porous films produced by a model in which particles incide perpendicularly to a substrate, interact with deposited neighbors in its trajectory, and aggregate laterally with probability of order a at each position. The model generalizes ballisticlike models by allowing attachment to particles below the outer surface. For small values of a, a crossover from uncorrelated deposition (UD) to correlated growth is observed. Simulations are performed in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions. Extrapolation of effective exponents and comparison of roughness distributions confirm Kardar-Parisi-Zhang roughening of the outer surface for a>0. A scaling approach for small a predicts crossover times as a(-2/3) and local height fluctuations as a(-1/3) at the crossover, independent of substrate dimension. These relations are different from all previously studied models with crossovers from UD to correlated growth due to subsurface aggregation, which reduces scaling exponents. The same approach predicts the porosity and average pore height scaling as a(1/3) and a(-1/3), respectively, in good agreement with simulation results in 1+1 and 2+1 dimensions. These results may be useful for modeling samples with desired porosity and long pores.

Nonuniversal effects in mixing correlated-growth processes with randomness: interplay between bulk morphology and surface roughening

To construct continuum stochastic growth equations for competitive nonequilibrium surface-growth processes of the type RD+X that mixes random deposition (RD) with a correlated-growth process X, we use a simplex decomposition of the height field. A distinction between growth processes X that do and do not create voids in the bulk leads to the definition of the effective probability p(eff) of the process X that is a measurable property of the bulk morphology and depends on the activation probability p of X in the competitive process RD+X. The bulk morphology is reflected in the surface roughening via nonuniversal prefactors in the universal scaling of the surface width that scales in p(eff). The equation and the resulting scaling are derived for X in either a Kardar-Parisi-Zhang or Edwards-Wilkinson universality class in (1+1) dimensions and are illustrated by an example of X being a ballistic deposition. We obtain full data collapse on its corresponding universal scaling function for all p∈(0;1]. We outline the generalizations to (1+n) dimensions and to many-component competitive growth processes.

Langevin equations for competitive growth models

Langevin equations for several competitive growth models in one dimension are derived. For models with crossover from random deposition (RD) to some correlated deposition (CD) dynamics, with small probability p of CD, the surface tension ν and the nonlinear coefficient λ of the associated equations have linear dependence on p due solely to this random choice. However, they also depend on the regularized step functions present in the analytical representations of the CD, whose expansion coefficients scale with p according to the divergence of local height differences when p→0. The superposition of those scaling factors gives ν~p(2) for random deposition with surface relaxation (RDSR) as the CD, and ν~p, λ~p(3/2) for ballistic deposition (BD) as the CD, in agreement with simulation and other scaling approaches. For bidisperse ballistic deposition (BBD), the same scaling of RD-BD model is found. The Langevin equation for the model with competing RDSR and BD, with probability p for the latter, is also constructed. It shows linear p dependence of λ, while the quadratic dependence observed in previous simulations is explained by an additional crossover before the asymptotic regime. The results highlight the relevance of scaling of the coefficients of step function expansions in systems with steep surfaces, which is responsible for noninteger exponents in some p-dependent stochastic equations, and the importance of the physical correspondence of aggregation rules and equation coefficients.

Anomalous roughening in competitive growth models with time-decreasing rates of correlated dynamics

Lattice growth models where uncorrelated random deposition competes with some aggregation dynamics that generates correlations are studied with rates of the correlated component decreasing as a power law. These models have anomalous roughening, with anomalous exponents related to the normal exponents of the correlated dynamics, to an exponent characterizing the aggregation mechanism and to that power-law exponent. This is shown by a scaling approach extending the Family-Vicsek relation previously derived for the models with time-independent rates, thus providing a connection of normal and anomalous growth models. Simulation results for several models support those conclusions. Remarkable anomalous effects are observed even for slowly decreasing rates of the correlated component, which may correspond to feasible temperature changes in systems with activated dynamics. The scaling exponents of the correlated component can be obtained only from the estimates of three anomalous exponents, without knowledge of the aggregation mechanism, and a possible application is discussed. For some models, the corresponding Edwards-Wilkinson and Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equations are also discussed.

Parameter-free scaling relation for nonequilibrium growth processes

We discuss a parameter-free scaling relation that yields a complete data collapse for large classes of nonequilibrium growth processes. We illustrate the power of this scaling relation through various growth models, such as the competitive growth model with random deposition and random deposition with surface diffusion or the restricted solid-on-solid model with different nearest-neighbor height differences, as well as through a deposition model with temperature-dependent diffusion. The scaling relation is compared to the familiar Family-Vicsek relation, and the limitations of the latter are highlighted.

Scaling behavior in corrosion and growth of a passive film

We study a simple model for metal corrosion controlled by the reaction rate of the metal with an anionic species and the diffusion of that species in the growing passive film between the solution and the metal. A crossover from the reaction-controlled to the diffusion-controlled growth regime with different roughening properties is observed. Scaling arguments provide estimates of the crossover time and film thickness as functions of the reaction and diffusion rates and the concentration of anionic species in the film-solution interface, including a nontrivial square-root dependence on that concentration. At short times, the metal-film interface exhibits Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) scaling, which crosses over to a diffusion-limited erosion (Laplacian growth) regime at long times. The roughness of the metal-film interface at long times is obtained as a function of the rates of reaction and diffusion and of the KPZ growth exponent. The predictions have been confirmed by simulations of a lattice version of the model in two dimensions. Relations with other erosion and corrosion models and possible applications are discussed.

Surface and bulk properties of deposits grown with a bidisperse ballistic deposition model

We study roughness scaling of the outer surface and the internal porous structure of deposits generated with the three-dimensional bidisperse ballistic deposition (BBD), in which particles of two sizes are randomly deposited. Systematic extrapolation of roughness and dynamical exponents and the comparison of roughness distributions indicate that the top surface has Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) scaling for any ratio F of the flux between large and small particles. A scaling theory predicts the characteristic time of the crossover from random to correlated growth in BBD and provides relations between the amplitudes of roughness scaling and F in the KPZ regime. The porosity of the deposits monotonically increases with F and scales as F{12} for small F, which is also explained by the scaling approach and illustrates the possibility of connecting surface growth rules and bulk properties. The suppression of relaxation mechanisms in BBD enhances the connectivity of the deposits when compared to other ballisticlike models, so that they percolate down to F approximately 0.05. The fractal dimension of the internal surface of the percolating deposits is D{F} approximately 2.9, which is very close to the values in other ballistic-like models and suggests universality among these systems.

Scaling Theory in a Model of Corrosion and Passivation

We study a model for corrosion and passivation of a metallic surface after small damage of its protective layer using scaling arguments and simulation. We focus on the transition between an initial regime of slow corrosion rate (pit nucleation) to a regime of rapid corrosion (propagation of the pit), which takes place at the so-called incubation time. The model is defined in a lattice in which the states of the sites represent the possible states of the metal (bulk, reactive, and passive) and the solution (neutral, acidic, or basic). Simple probabilistic rules describe passivation of the metal surface, dissolution of the passive layer, which is enhanced in acidic media, and spatially separated electrochemical reactions, which may create pH inhomogeneities in the solution. On the basis of a suitable matching of characteristic times of creation and annihilation of pH inhomogeneities in the solution, our scaling theory estimates the average radius of the dissolved region at the incubation time as a function of the model parameters. Among the main consequences, that radius decreases with the rate of spatially separated reactions and the rate of dissolution in acidic media, and it increases with the diffusion coefficient of H(+) and OH(-) ions in solution. The average incubation time can be written as the sum of a series of characteristic times for the slow dissolution in neutral media, until significant pH inhomogeneities are observed in the dissolved cavity. Despite having a more complex dependence on the model parameters, it is shown that the average incubation time linearly increases with the rate of dissolution in neutral media, under the reasonable assumption that this is the slowest rate of the process. Our theoretical predictions are expected to apply in realistic ranges of values of the model parameters. They are confirmed by numerical simulation in two-dimensional lattices, and the expected extension of the theory to three dimensions is discussed.

Universal and nonuniversal features in the crossover from linear to nonlinear interface growth

We study a restricted solid-on-solid model involving deposition and evaporation with probabilities p and 1 - p, respectively, in one-dimensional substrates. It presents a crossover from Edwards-Wilkinson (EW) to Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) scaling for p approximately 0.5. The associated KPZ equation is analytically derived, exhibiting a coefficient lambda of the nonlinear term proportional to q identical with p - 1/2, which is confirmed numerically by calculation of tilt-dependent growth velocities for several values of p. This linear lambda - q relation contrasts to the apparently universal parabolic law obtained in competitive models mixing EW and KPZ components. The regions where the interface roughness shows pure EW and KPZ scaling are identified for 0.55< or =p< or =0.8, which provides numerical estimates of the crossover times tc. They scale as tc approximately lambda -phi with phi=4.1+/-0.1, which is in excellent agreement with the theoretically predicted universal value phi=4 and improves previous numerical estimates, which suggested phi approximately 3.

Dynamic properties in a family of competitive growing models

The properties of a wide variety of growing models, generically called X-RD, involving the deposition of particles according to competitive processes, such that a particle is attached to the aggregate with probability p following the mechanisms of a generic model X that provides the correlations and at random [random deposition (RD)] with probability (1-p), are studied by means of numerical simulations and analytic developments. The study comprises the following X models: Ballistic deposition, random deposition with surface relaxation, Das Sarma-Tamboronea, Kim-Kosterlitz, Lai-Das Sarma, Wolf-Villain, large curvature, and three additional models that are variants of the ballistic deposition model. It is shown that after a growing regime, the interface width becomes saturated at a crossover time (tx2) that, by fixing the sample size, scales with p according to tx2(p) proportional variant p-y (P>0), where is an exponent. Also, the interface width at saturation (Wsat) scales as Wsat(p) proportional variant p-delta (p>0), where delta is another exponent. It is proved that, in any dimension, the exponents delta and y obey the following relationship: delta=y beta RD, where beta RD=1/2 is the growing exponent for RD. Furthermore, both exponents exhibit universality in the p --> 0 limit. By mapping the behavior of the average height difference of two neighboring sites in discrete models of type X-RD and two kinds of random walks, we have determined the exact value of the exponent delta. When the height difference between two neighbouring sites corresponds to a random walk that after walking <n> steps returns to a distance from its initial position that is proportional to the maximum distance reached (random walk of type A), one has delta=1/2. On the other hand, when the height difference between two neighboring sites corresponds to a random walk that after <n> steps moves <l> steps towards the initial position (random walk of type B), one has delta=1. Finally, by linking four well-established universality classes (namely Edwards-Wilkinson, Kardar-Parisi-Zhang, linear [molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)] and nonlinear MBE) with the properties of type A and B of random walks, eight different stochastic equations for all the competitive models studied are derived.

Scaling in the crossover from random to correlated growth

In systems where deposition rates are high compared to diffusion, desorption, and other mechanisms that generate correlations, a crossover from random to correlated growth of surface roughness is expected at a characteristic time t0. This crossover is analyzed in lattice models via scaling arguments, with support from simulation results presented here and in other works. We argue that the amplitudes of the saturation roughness and of the saturation time t(x) scale as t0(1/2) and t0, respectively. For models with lateral aggregation, which typically are in the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) class, we show that t0 approximately p(-1), where p is the probability of the correlated aggregation mechanism to take place. However, t0 approximately p(-2) is obtained in solid-on-solid models with single-particle deposition attempts. This group includes models in various universality classes, with numerical examples being provided in the Edwards-Wilkinson (EW), KPZ, and Villain-Lai-Das Sarma (nonlinear molecular-beam epitaxy) classes. Most applications are for two-component models in which random deposition, with probability 1-p, competes with a correlated aggregation process with probability p. However, our approach can be extended to other systems with the same crossover, such as the generalized restricted solid-on-solid model with maximum height difference S, for large S. Moreover, the scaling approach applies to all dimensions. In the particular case of one-dimensional KPZ processes with this crossover, we show that t0 approximately nu(-1) and nu approximately lambda(2/3), where nu and lambda are the coefficients of the linear and nonlinear terms of the associated KPZ equations. The applicability of previous results to models in the EW and KPZ classes is discussed.