Publication 21-CNA-009

Global and local energy minimizers for a nanowire growth model

Irene Fonseca
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
fonseca@andrew.cmu.edu

Nicola Fusco
Dipartimento di Matematica e Applicazioni "R. Caccioppoli"
Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II"
Napoli, Italy
n.fusco@unina.it

Giovanni Leoni
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
giovanni@andrew.cmu.edu

Massimiliano Morini
Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Informatiche
Università degli Studi di Parma
Parma, Italy
massimiliano.morini@unipr.it

Abstract: We consider a model for vapor-liquid-solid growth of nanowires proposed in the physical literature. Liquid drops are described as local or global volume-constrained minimizers of the capillarity energy outside a semi-infinite convex obstacle modeling the nanowire. We first address the existence of global minimizers and then, in the case of rotationally symmetric nanowires, we investigate how the presence of a sharp edge affects the shape of local minimizers and the validity of Young's law.

Get the paper in its entirety as  21-CNA-009.pdf

---

«   Back to CNA Publications