A microscopic model for thin film spreading
arXiv:cond-mat/0201218 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.206101
Abstract
A microscopic, driven lattice gas model is proposed for the dynamics and spatio-temporal fluctuations of the precursor film observed in spreading experiments. Matter is transported both by holes and particles, and the distribution of each can be described by driven diffusion with a moving boundary. This picture leads to a stochastic partial differential equation for the shape of the boundary, which agrees with the simulations of the lattice gas. Preliminary results for flow in a thermal gradient are discussed.
4 pages, 3 figures. Submitted