On the determination of the structure and tension of the interface between a fluid and a curved hard wall

The structure and tension of the interface between a fluid and a spherically shaped hard wall are studied theoretically. The authors show the equivalence of different expressions for the surface tension and Tolman length using the squared-gradient model and density functional theory with a nonlocal, integral expression for the interaction between molecules. Even though both these models yield equilibrium density profiles that do not satisfy the wall theorem, they still obey the basic requirement of mechanical equilibrium. The authors trace back the origin of the difference between these two observations to the (lack of) continuity of the cavity function at the hard wall. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.