Roughening transition driven by a binary spreading process

TL;DR

This paper introduces a solid-on-solid growth model driven by binary processes that exhibits a transition from smooth to rough surface phases, characterized by critical behavior similar to certain absorbing phase transitions.

Contribution

The study presents a new growth process model that demonstrates a robust roughening transition driven by an absorbing phase transition, linking surface dynamics to known critical phenomena.

Findings

Model exhibits a smooth-to-rough transition.

Transition driven by an absorbing phase transition.

Critical behavior matches pair contact process with diffusion.

Abstract

We introduce a solid-on-solid growth process which evolves by random deposition of dimers, surface diffusion, and evaporation of monomers from the edges of plateaus. It is shown that the model exhibits a robust transition from a smooth to a rough phase. The roughening transition is driven by an absorbing phase transition at the bottom layer of the interface, which displays the same type of critical behavior as the pair contact process with diffusion 2A->3A, 2A->0.