Dynamic scaling of a reaction-limited decay process

A model of surface deconstruction in 1+1 dimensions is presented in this paper. The process of decay goes on only at surface sites in a reaction-limited regime and the statistical properties of surface sites are studied in comparison with the well-known results of the Eden growth. In particular, the dynamic behaviour of the short-time exponent ß is investigated for large strips and differences between Eden growth and the present decay model are pointed out. It is shown how a simple scheme of site extraction can produce a multiple cluster decay whose secondary mechanical effects often arise from and overlap to a generic process of chemical erosion. The analysis of the particles released during deconstruction is related to experimental results on highly ordered pyrolythic graphite. Such an analysis can explain some discrepancies between continuum theory and a specific chemical disaggregation.