Capillary waves of a vapor-liquid interface in a gravitational field very close to the critical temperature

Abstract

The interfacial density profiles in a gravitational field very close to the critical temperature, calculated earlier on the basis of the squared-gradient theory, are reconsidered in view of the role of capillary waves. It is found that the influence of capillary waves is small in the regime where compressional effects become large. Thus a smooth interpolation is found between the regime well above the critical temperature, where the gravitationally induced density profiles are basically given by a local thermodynamic theory, and the regime well below the critical temperature, where the density profile is given by an intrinsic profile smeared out by capillary waves.