Curvature dependent surface tension from a simulation of a cavity in a Lennard-Jones liquid close to coexistence

M. P. Moody and P. Attard

Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095

J. Chem. Phys. 115<\B> 8967-8977, (2001)

Abstract
Monte Carlo simulations have been used to calculate the surface tension of a planar liquid-vapour interface of a Lennard-Jones fluid using a new cylindrical truncation correction procedure. A bubble was mimicked by simulating a Lennard-Jones liquid close to coexistence containing a single immobile hard sphere cavity. From the density profile of this system the curvature dependent surface tension has been estimated via calculation of the Helmholtz free energy of the system and separately using a large cavity contact density expansion. Evidence is presented that the Tolman length becomes increasingly negative as the critical temperature is approached and possibly changes sig

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