Effective interactions approach to phase stability in alloys under irradiation

Phase stability in alloys under irradiation is studied considering effective thermodynamic potentials. A simple kinetic model of a binary alloy with phase separation is investigated. Time evolution in the alloy results form two competing dynamics: thermal diffusion, and irradiation induced ballistic exchanges. The dynamical (steady state) phase diagram is evaluated exactly performing Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The solution is then compared to two theoretical frameworks: the effective quasi-interactions model as proposed by Vaks and Kamishenko, and the effective free energy model as proposed by Martin. New developments of these models are proposed to allow for quantitative comparisons. Both theoretical frameworks yield fairly good approximations to the dynamical phase diagram