Time-dependent effects in nucleation near the critical point

Application of the critical dynamics to the nucleation process results in a Langevin-type equation for the radius of the nucleus, which is transformed to a Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution function. The time-dependent solution of this equation is shown to be crucially dependent upon the initial conditions. The time lag associated with the establishment of the steady state following a fast quench is exponentially larger than that for a slow quench. Numerical estimates of the time lag are presented.