A conserved phase field system with memory and relaxed chemical potential ✩

In this paper we propose a conserved phase-field model with memory and relaxed chemical potential. Our model could be considered also in the frame of Cahn–Hilliard’s theory of spinodal decomposition of a binary mixture, where there is a coupling to a slowly relaxing variable, e.g., in phase separation of polymer mixtures near a glass transition. The global well-posedness in an Lp-setting is obtained under suitable relaxation functions and under homogeneous conditions. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.