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Title: Thermodynamic properties of a symmetrical binary mixture in the coexistence region

Journal Article · · Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Print)
 [1];  [2]
  1. Theoretical Sciences Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur P.O., Bangalore 560064 (India)
  2. Institut fuer Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55099 Mainz (Germany)

A three-dimensional symmetric binary fluid is studied, as a function of temperature, in the two-phase (liquid-liquid) coexistence region via Monte Carlo simulations. Particular focus has been in the understanding of curvature-dependent interfacial tension, which is observed to vary as {sigma}(R)={sigma}({infinity})/[1+2((l/R)){sup 2}], implying that a Tolman length is zero in the limit R{yields}{infinity}. The length l is found to have a critical divergence the same as the correlation length, but its amplitude is significantly larger (l{approx_equal}4{xi}). Our findings hence imply that the barrier against homogeneous nucleation is significantly reduced (in comparison with the classical nucleation theory) in the critical region. We also report results for the critical behavior of the flat interfacial tension {sigma}({infinity}) and the concentration susceptibility, as well as the amplitude ratios involving these thermodynamic quantities. Noting that the interatomic potential in our model is described by the Lennard-Jones form that decays faster that 1/r{sup 3}, all of our results for critical phenomena are expectedly consistent with the Ising universality class of three spatial dimensions.

OSTI ID:
21612540
Journal Information:
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics (Print), Vol. 84, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.061607; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1539-3755
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English