Computer simulation of vapor-liquid phase separation in two- and three-dimensional fluids: Growth law of domain size.

Abstract

The late-time growth law of the vapor-liquid phase separation in two- and three-dimensional one-component fluids has been investigated by molecular dynamics simulations in which instantaneous quenching of fluid composed of 50 000 (2D) or 78 732 (3D) Lennard-Jones particles into the corresponding two phase (spinodal) region has been performed. The power law growth of the characteristic length scale, i.e., l(t)\ensuremath{\sim}${\mathit{t}}^{\mathit{a}}$ is observed in both the 2D and 3D systems in the late stage. All molecular dynamics simulations which we have carried out, except for the cases in which the scaling regime has not been reached in simulation time, confirm that the asymptotic growth exponent is 1/2 in common with two and three dimensions. It is also found that thermal noises have no effect on the growth exponent but give rise to a substantial delay of the transition time to the asymptotic regime. This work provides temporal domain patterns associated with the phase separation processes suggesting that the domain structures are sensitive to the temperature of the system.