Non-conservative dynamics of lattice sites near a migrating interface in a diffusional phase transformation

Migration of phase boundaries in crystalline solids eliminates one set of lattice sites and establishes another. Using a combination of phase field crystal modeling and crystallographic analysis, we present here a complete atomistic description of the migration mechanism of a high-index planar interface during a diffusional hexagon to square phase transformation. In particular we show that a terrace-step interface advances macroscopically in the form of growth ledges, while microscopically its migration occurs by opposite shearing on the terraces and a one-to-two splitting of lattice sites, giving a new class of lattice site correspondence and superabundant vacancies. In addition, a new approach capable of finding a critical nucleus with atomic resolution is developed by combining the phase field crystal energetics with the free-end nudged elastic band algorithm.