Irreducible finite-size effects in surface free energies from crystal-nucleation data

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Zykova-Timan, T, Valeriani, C, Sanz, E, Frenkel, D, Tosatti, E
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 12.12.2011
• Subjects: Argon; Experiments; Free energy; Liquid surfaces; Liquid-solid interfaces; Nucleation; Physics - Materials Science; Simulation; Size effects

In this Letter we report a simulation study in which we compare the solid-liquid interfacial free energy of NaCl at coexistence, with the value that follows from the height of the homogeneous nucleation barrier. We find that the two estimates differ by more than 100%. Similar, although smaller discr...