6533b82ffe1ef96bd1295c1d
RESEARCH PRODUCT
The droplet evaporation/condensation transition in a finite volume
Peter VirnauKurt BinderMarcus MüllerLuis G. Macdowellsubject
BinodalPhysicsSupersaturationFinite volume methodStatistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)CondensationThermodynamicsFOS: Physical sciencesStatistical mechanicsCondensed Matter - Soft Condensed MatterPhysics::Fluid DynamicsVolume (thermodynamics)Vapor–liquid equilibriumSoft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)Lever ruleCondensed Matter - Statistical Mechanicsdescription
A fluid in the NVT ensemble at T less than the critical temperature T_c and rho = N/V somewhat in excess of rho_coex (density of the saturated gas in the gas-liquid transition) is considered. For V->infinity, a macroscopic liquid droplet coexists with surrounding saturated gas according to the lever rule. For finite V, droplets can only exist if they exceed a minimum size. A (rounded) first order transition of the system occurs when the droplet evaporates into the supersaturated gas.Simulation evidence for this transition is given for a Lennard-Jones model and interpreted by a phenomenological theory. At the transition, the chemical potential difference mu_t-mu_coex scales like L^(-d/(d+1)) for a cubic volume V=L^d in d dimensions, as L->infinity.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-03-31 |