Logarithmic coarsening and glassy behavior in a polymer model with mass-dependent diffusion

We present a model of polymer growth and diffusion with frustration mechanisms for density increase and with diffusion rates of Arrhenius form with mass-dependent energy barriers Γ(m)∼(m−1)^γ. It shows nonuniversal logarithmic coarsening involving the exponent γ. Strong-glass behavior is found in the typical times for disappearance of all polymers up to a given length, without reference to the equilibrium states of the macroscopic system. These features are predicted by numerical simulations, scaling theories, and an analytic solution of the master equation within an independent interval approximation, which also provides the cluster size distribution.