Abstract
This paper reports the first calculation of the two-dimensional interfacial profile and energetics of nanoscopically thin films of helium, on an heterogeneous planar substrate consisting of two adjoining metals. The calculations are performed in the frame of density functional theory at zero temperature, with the purpose of identifying the formation process of the interface at the boundary between the two substrates when few atomic layers are involved, to elucidate the possible relationship of the magnitude of the boundary tension with the displacement of layers between the half films, and to extract keys to organize future calculations of film coexistence at finite temperatures.
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Notes
In fact, FRDF theory is unable to match the prewetting temperature \(T_{PW}\) at the expected experimental figure of \(\approx \)2.5 K, due to the limitations of mean field theory in accounting for critical phenomena.
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Acknowledgments
The author is thankful to F. Ancilotto, M. Barranco and M. Pi for interesting conversations and for many valuable computational hints, and to M. Cole for critical comments. This work was performed with partial support from Grants PIP 0546 from CONICET, UBACYT 01/K156 from University of Buenos Aires and PICT 2011/1217 from ANPCYT, Argentina.
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Hernández, E.S. Boundary Tension at the Interface of Nanoscopic Helium Films on an Heterogeneous Substrate. J Low Temp Phys 176, 82–92 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-014-1143-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-014-1143-3