Enhanced wavelength-dependent surface tension of liquid-vapour interfaces

Abstract

Due to the simultaneous presence of bulk-like and interfacial fluctuations the understanding of the structure of liquid-vapour interfaces poses a long-lasting and ongoing challenge for experiments, theory, and simulations. We provide a new analysis of this topic by combining high-quality simulation data for Lennard-Jones fluids with an unambiguous definition of the wavenumber-dependent surface tension $\gamma (q)$ based on the two-point correlation function of the fluid. Upon raising the temperature, $\gamma (q)$ develops a maximum at short wavelengths. We compare these results with predictions from density functional theory. Our analysis has repercussions for the interpretation of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) at liquid interfaces.

References in corpus (5)

• A perspective on the interfacial properties of nanoscopic liquid drops
• Capillary Waves in a Colloid-Polymer Interface
• Description of the fluctuating colloid-polymer interface
• On the spectrum of fluctuations of a liquid surface: From the molecular scale to the macroscopic scale
• Pair correlation functions and the wavevector-dependent surface tension in a simple density functional treatment of the liquid-vapour interface

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Liquid-Gas Asymmetry and the Wavevector-Dependent Surface Tension
• Force density functional theory in- and out-of-equilibrium
• Comparative study of force-based classical density functional theory
• Variance of fluctuations from Noether invariance
• Long range correlations generated by phase separation. Exact results from field theory
• Correlations and structure of interfaces in the Ising model. Theory and numerics
• Surface viscosity in simple liquids
• Multipoint correlation functions at phase separation. Exact results from field theory
• Finite-size corrections for the static structure factor of a liquid slab with open boundaries
• Four-point interfacial correlation functions in two dimensions. Exact results from field theory and numerical simulations
• Structure of liquid--vapor interfaces: perspectives from liquid state theory, large-scale simulations, and potential grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction
• Fluid flow inside slit-shaped nanopores: the role of surface morphology at the molecular scale
• The Intrinsic Fragility of the Liquid-Vapor Interface: A Stress Network Perspective
• Critical surface adsorption of confined binary liquids with locally conserved mass and composition
• Linear stability theory and molecular simulations of nanofilm dewetting with disjoining pressure, strong liquid-solid slip, and thermal fluctuations