GMIC++: Grouping method in C++: an efficient method to solve large number of Master equations Original Research Article

In typical nucleation, growth and coarsening problems in the study of defect/adatom accumulation in crystalline solids or surfaces, a large number of Master equations are involved to describe the evolution process. As examples, defect clusters nucleate and grow from point defects in solids when subjected to particle irradiation, and atoms depositing on a substrate form clusters leading to film growth. To efficiently solve the large number of master equations, the grouping method was used, which we have coded into a standard C++ program, taking full advantage of the object-oriented programming style supported in the C++ language. Because of the generic nature of this code, it may be of interest to the modeling nucleation and growth processes. As an example to demonstrate the application of this computer code, the Ostwald ripening process of vacancy clustering during aging in metal nickel is calculated.