MOBILITY OF A DIFFUSE SIMPLE CRYSTAL MELT INTERFACE

The linear melt growth kinetic coefficient is calculated on the basis of a simple extension of the modern density functional theory of freezing, taking proper account of the strong subsurface ordering of the melt. The result is expressed via easily measured parameters of bulk crystal and melt, and yields the universal estimate b = upsilon/DELTA-mu almost-equal-to (k(B)T/m)1/2/k(B)T, the thermal velocity per thermal energy, in good agreement with existing data.