We review understanding of kinetics of fluid phase separation in various space dimensions. Morphological differences, percolating or disconnected, based on overall composition in a binary liquid or density in a vapor-liquid system, have been pointed
out. Depending upon the morphology, various possible mechanisms and corresponding theoretical predictions for domain growth are discussed. On computational front, useful models and simulation methodologies have been presented. Theoretically predicted growth laws have been tested via molecular dynamics simulations of vapor-liquid transitions. In case of disconnected structure, the mechanism has been confirmed directly. This is a brief review on the topic for a special issue on coarsening dynamics, expected to appear in Comptes Rendus Physique.
Behavior of two-time autocorrelation during the phase separation in solid binary mixtures are studied via numerical solutions of the Cahn-Hilliard equation as well as Monte Carlo simulations of the Ising model. Results are analyzed via state-of-the-a
rt methods, including the finite-size scaling technique. Full forms of the autocorrelation in space dimensions $2$ and $3$ are obtained empirically. The long time behavior are found to be power-law type, with exponents unexpectedly higher than the ones for the ferromagnetic ordering. Both Chan-Hilliard and Ising models provide results consistent with each other.
A description of phase separation kinetics for solid binary (A,B) mixtures in thin film geometry based on the Kawasaki spin-exchange kinetic Ising model is presented in a discrete lattice molecular field formulation. It is shown that the model descri
bes the interplay of wetting layer formation and lateral phase separation, which leads to a characteristic domain size $ell(t)$ in the directions parallel to the confining walls that grows according to the Lifshitz-Slyozov $t^{1/3}$ law with time $t$ after the quench. Near the critical point of the model, the description is shown to be equivalent to the standard treatments based on Ginzburg-Landau models. Unlike the latter, the present treatment is reliable also at temperatures far below criticality, where the correlation length in the bulk is only of the order of a lattice spacing, and steep concentration variations may occur near the walls, invalidating the gradient square approximation. A further merit is that the relation to the interaction parameters in the bulk and at the walls is always transparent, and the correct free energy at low temperatures is consistent with the time evolution by construction.
