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Beyond Cahn-Hilliard-Cook: Early time behavior of symmetry breaking phase transition kinetics

We extend the early time ordering theory of Cahn, Hilliard, and Cook (CHC) so that our generalized theory applies to solid-to-solid transitions. Our theory involves spatial symmetry breaking (the initial phase contains a symmetry not present in the final phase). The predictions of our generalization differ from those of the CHC theory in two important ways: exponential growth does not begin immediately following the quench, and the objects that grow exponentially are not necessarily Fourier modes. Our theory is consistent with simulation results for the long-range antiferromagnetic Ising model.