Critical Wetting and Interface Localization—Delocalization Transition in a Double Wedge

Abstract

Using Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling methods we study “wetting” in Ising systems in a L x L x L _y pore with quadratic cross section. Antisymmetric surface fields H _s act on the free L x L _y surfaces of the opposing wedges, and periodic boundary conditions are applied along the y-direction. Our results represent the first simulational observation of fluctuation effects in three dimensional wetting phenomena and corroborate recent predictions on wedge filling. In the limit L → ∞ L _y /L ³ = const the system exhibits a new type of phase transition, which is the analog of the “filling transition” that occurs in a single wedge. It is characterized by critical exponents α = 3/4, β = 0, γ = 5/4 for the specific heat, order parameter, and susceptibility, respectively.