Domain segregation in a two-dimensional system in the presence of drift

Abstract

Motivated by experiments on optical patterns we analyze two-dimensional extended bistable systems with drift after a quench above threshold. The evolution can be separated into successive stages: linear growth and diffusion, coarsening, and transport, leading finally to a quasi-one-dimensional kink-antikink state. The phenomenon is general and occurs when the bistability relates to uniform phases or two different patterns.