We investigate the relaxation dynamics of two distinct non-equilibrium processes: relaxation of three-dimensional antiferromagnetic lattice spin models with Heisenberg interaction following a critical quench, and a one-dimensional exclusion process inspired by the gear-like motion of molecular motors. In a system of three-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets the non-conserved staggered magnetization components couple non-trivially to the conserved magnetization densities inducing fully reversible terms that enter the Langevin dynamic equation. We simulate the exact microscopic dynamics of such a system of antiferromagnets by employing a hybrid simulation algorithm that combines the reversible spin precession implemented by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta integration method with the standard relaxational dynamics at finite temperatures using Monte Carlo updates. We characterize the dynamic universality class of this system by probing the early temporal window where the system exhibits aging scaling properties. We also verify an earlier renormalization group prediction that the temporal decay exponent in the two-time spin autocorrelation function exhibits non-universality, specifically it depends on the width of the initial spin orientation distribution. We employ a similar numerical technique to study the critical dynamics of an anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the presence of an external field. The phase diagram of this system exhibits two critical lines that meet at a bicritical point. We study the aging scaling dynamics for the model C critical line, probe the model F critical line by investigating the system size dependence of the characteristic spin-wave frequencies near criticality, and measure the dynamic critical exponents for the order parameter including its aging scaling at the bicritical point. We introduce a one-dimensional non-equilibrium lattice gas model representing the processive motion of dynein molecular motors over the microtubule. We study both dynamical and stationary state properties for the model consisting of hardcore particles hopping on the lattice with variable step sizes. We find that the stationary state gap-distribution exhibits striking peaks around gap sizes that are multiples of the maximum step size, for both open and periodic boundary conditions, and verify this using a mean-field calculation. For open boundary conditions, we observe intriguing damped oscillator-like distribution of particles over the lattice with a periodicity equal to the maximum step size. To characterize transient dynamics, we measure the mean square displacement that shows weak superdiffusive growth with exponent γ≈ 1.34 for periodic boundary and ballistic growth ( γ≈ 2) for open boundary conditions at early times. We also study the effect of Langmuir dynamics on the density profile. / Doctor of Philosophy / Most systems found in nature are out of equilibrium. In this dissertation we investigate the relaxation dynamics of two such non-equilibrium systems: 1. We investigate a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic system relaxing towards equilibrium from an initial state that is driven far away from equilibrium at the point in the parameter space where the system undergoes a second-order phase transition. We devise a novel simulation method that captures emerging dynamic universal features and scaling features at these points of continuous phase transition in the early times of relaxation when the system is still far away from equilibrium. 2. Cytoplasmic dyneins are one of three kinds of motor proteins that move on tubular structures called microtubules carrying and transporting cellular cargo inside the cells. Unlike the other molecular motors that move forward with fixed step sizes, the dyneins have been experimentally observed to vary their step size depending on the amount of cargo they are carrying. We model an exclusion process in a one-dimensional lattice inspired by the motion of the dynein molecular motors where the motors can hop from one to four steps depending on their internal states. We study the effect of this variable step size on the dynamics of a collection of dyneins. We observe intriguing oscillating density profiles and discrete peaks in the distribution of empty sites. Our results suggest self-organization among the motors and the empty sites.

In this dissertation, I study a nonlinear partial differential equation, the complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation. I first employed the perturbative field-theoretic renormalization group method to investigate the critical dynamics near the continuous non-equilibrium transition limit in this equation with additive noise. Due to the fact that time translation invariance is broken following a critical quench from a random initial configuration, an independent ``initial-slip'' exponent emerges to describe the crossover temporal window between microscopic time scales and the asymptotic long-time regime. My analytic work shows that to first order in a dimensional expansion with respect to the upper critical dimension, the extracted initial-slip exponent in the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is identical to that of the equilibrium model A. Subsequently, I studied transient behavior in the CGL through numerical calculations. I developed my own code to numerically solve this partial differential equation on a two-dimensional square lattice with periodic boundary conditions, subject to random initial configurations. Aging phenomena are demonstrated in systems with either focusing and defocusing spiral waves, and the related aging exponents, as well as the auto-correlation exponents, are numerically determined. I also investigated nucleation processes when the system is transiting from a turbulent state to the ``frozen'' state. An extracted finite dimensionless barrier in the deep-quenched case and the exponentially decaying distribution of the nucleation times in the near-transition limit are both suggestive that the dynamical transition observed here is discontinuous. This research is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering under Award DE-FG02-SC0002308 / Doctor of Philosophy / The complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is one of the most studied nonlinear partial differential equation in the physics community. I study this equation using both analytical and numerical methods. First, I employed the field theory approach to extract the critical initial-slip exponent, which emerges due to the breaking of time translation symmetry and describes the intermediate temporal window between microscopic time scales and the asymptotic long-time regime. I also numerically solved this equation on a two-dimensional square lattice. I studied the scaling behavior in non-equilibrium relaxation processes in situations where defects are interactive but not subject to strong fluctuations. I observed nucleation processes when the system under goes a transition from a strongly fluctuating disordered state to the relatively stable “frozen” state where its dynamics cease. I extracted a finite dimensionless barrier for systems that are quenched deep into the frozen state regime. An exponentially decaying long tail in the nucleation time distribution is found, which suggests a discontinuous transition. This research is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering under Award DE-FG02-SC0002308.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Dynamik geordneter modulierter Phasen außerhalb des thermischen Gleichgewichts untersucht. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf einem zweidimensionalen, streifenbildenden System, genannt Modell B mit Coulomb-Wechselwirkung, welches aus einem geordneten Anfangszustand unter dem Einfluß eines Rauschterms relaxiert. Aus den mittels numerischer Simulationen gewonnenen Daten wird die lokale Orientierung der Streifen extrahiert und deren raum-zeitliche Korrelationsfunktionen berechnet. Wir beobachten eine langsame Dynamik und Alterungseffekte in der Zwei-Zeit-Autokorrelationsfunktion, welche einer Skalenform folgt, die aus kritischen Systemen bekannt ist. Dies geht einher mit dem Wachstum einer räumlichen Korrelationslänge senkrecht zu den Streifen. Zu sehr späten Zeiten klingt die zugehörige räumliche Korrelationsfunktion mit einem Potenzgesetz ab. Weiterhin wird der Einfluß der Systemgröße und verschiedener Seitenverhältnisse auf die Dynamik des Orientierungsfeldes studiert, wobei ein Wachstumsprozeß parallel zur Ausrichtung der Streifen identifiziert wird. Es zeigt sich, daß dieser Prozeß für die Nichtgleichgewichtsdynamik entscheidend ist. Zwei weitere Modelle für modulierte Phasen werden in ähnlicher Weise untersucht. Die Swift-Hohenberg-Gleichung in der Variante mit erhaltenem sowie nicht erhaltenem Ordnungsparameter zeigt ebenfalls Alterungseffekte in der Dynamik der Streifenorientierung. In einem System, welches zweidimensionale hexagonale Muster bildet, werden Alterungseffekte in der Autokorrelationsfunktion der Verschiebung beobachtet. Jedoch sättigt die zugehörige räumliche Korrelationslänge bei einem endlichen Wert, was auf eine Unterbrechung der Alterung hindeutet.