Macroscopic limit of the Becker–Döring equation via gradient flows

Abstract

This work considers gradient structures for the Becker–Döring equation and its macroscopic limits. The result of Niethammer [J. Nonlinear Sci. 13 (2003) 115–122] is extended to prove the convergence not only for solutions of the Becker–Döring equation towards the Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner equation of coarsening, but also the convergence of the associated gradient structures. We establish the gradient structure of the nonlocal coarsening equation rigorously and show continuous dependence on the initial data within this framework. Further, on the considered time scale the small cluster distribution of the Becker–Döring equation follows a quasistationary distribution dictated by the monomer concentration.