| Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 60, Number 1, October 2002
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 21 - 27 | |
| Section | General | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i2002-00312-y | |
| Published online | 01 September 2002 | |
On the formation/dissolution of equilibrium droplets
1
Department of Mathematics, UCLA - Los Angeles, CA 90095-1555, USA
2
Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University
Jilská 1, 110 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Received:
10
May
2002
Accepted:
10
July
2002
We consider liquid-vapor systems in finite-volume 
at parameter values corresponding to phase coexistence and study droplet
formation due to a fixed excess 
of particles above the
ambient gas density. We identify a dimensionless parameter
and a universal
value 
, and show that a droplet of the
dense phase occurs whenever 
, while,
for 
, the excess is entirely absorbed into the
gaseous background. When the droplet first forms, it comprises a
non-trivial, universal fraction of excess particles.
Similar reasoning applies to generic two-phase systems at phase coexistence including solid/gas —where the “droplet” is crystalline— and polymorphic systems. A
sketch of a rigorous proof for the 2D Ising lattice gas is
presented; generalizations are discussed heuristically.
PACS: 05.70.Fh – Phase transitions: general studies / 64.60.Cn – Order-disorder transformations, statistical mechanics of model systems / 75.10.Hk – Classical spin models
© EDP Sciences, 2002
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