Quasi-wetting on a sphere

Abstract

Wetting phenomena on a sphere of radius R are studied in the context of the Sullivan model. Neither a first nor a continuous transition is found for finite R. Only in the strict limit of R→∞ a second-order transition appears. For temperatures T higher than the wetting temperature in a flat geometry, T ∞ w, the thickness l of the enhanced density layer, which forms on the surface of the sphere, is for large R proportional to In R.