Atomistic Modeling of Solidification Phenomena Using the Phase-Field-Crystal Model

In recent years, a fundamental understanding of solidification and its behavior has been gained through molecular dynamics simulations and the phase-field method, the first of which is limited to short time scales and the latter of which does not represent interface and elastoplastic properties accurately. Recently, the phase-field-crystal (PFC) method, a continuum method operating on atomistic length scales and diffusive time scales, has helped bridge the multiple scale gap between molecular dynamics and phase field. This review surveys the advances of PFC models in the context of various solidification phenomena.