Spinodal decomposition in systems with initially quenched fluctuations of the order parameter

Early time kinetics of a system with conserved order parameter quenched into unstable two-phase region of the phase diagram is considered. We study the influence of random inhomogeneities of the order parameter distribution, present already in the system before the quench, on the process of phase separation. The combined effect of this quenched fluctuations and persistent thermal fluctuations on the structure factor is discussed. For large-scale inhomogeneities even for small times the maximum instability of Cahn–Hilliard type shifts to the larger wavelengths. This may be interpreted as a start of coarsening.