Nonequilibrium wetting transitions with short range forces

TL;DR

This paper investigates nonequilibrium wetting transitions using mean-field theory and numerical simulations of a KPZ equation, revealing critical and complete wetting behaviors, fluctuation effects, and complex interfacial structures.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of wetting transitions in nonequilibrium systems, including fluctuation effects and the characterization of complex interfacial patterns.

Findings

Critical wetting temperature is lowered by fluctuations in 1D.

A coexistence region persists in the thermodynamic limit.

Interfacial structures exhibit pyramidal patterns with specific slope and size distributions.

Abstract

We analyze within mean-field theory as well as numerically a KPZ equation that describes nonequilibrium wetting. Both complete and critical wettitng transitions were found and characterized in detail. For one-dimensional substrates the critical wetting temperature is depressed by fluctuations. In addition, we have investigated a region in the space of parameters (temperature and chemical potential) where the wet and nonwet phases coexist. Finite-size scaling analysis of the interfacial detaching times indicates that the finite coexistence region survives in the thermodynamic limit. Within this region we have observed (stable or very long-lived) structures related to spatio-temporal intermittency in other systems. In the interfacial representation these structures exhibit perfect triangular (pyramidal) patterns in one (two dimensions), that are characterized by their slope and size distribution.