Nonequilibrium Relaxation of an Elastic String in a Random Potential

We study the nonequilibrium motion of an elastic string in a two dimensional pinning landscape using Langevin dynamics simulations. The relaxation of a line, initially flat, is characterized by a growing length L(t) separating the equilibrated short length scales from the flat long distance geometry that keeps a memory of the initial condition. We show that, in the long time limit, L(t) has a nonalgebraic growth with a universal distribution function. The distribution function of waiting times is also calculated, and related to the previous distribution. The barrier distribution is narrow enough to justify arguments based on scaling of the typical barrier.