Researchers from Mainz University identify novel mechanisms
of logarithmic finite-size corrections relevant to the determination of
interfacial tension
Computer simulations play an increasingly important role in
the description and development of new materials. Yet, despite major advances
in computer technology, the simulations in statistical physics are typically
restricted to systems of up to a few 100,000 particles, which is many times smaller
than the actual material quantities used in typical experiments. Researchers
therefore use so-called finite-size corrections in order to adjust the results
obtained for comparatively small simulation systems to the macroscopic scale. A
team of researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now
succeeded in better understanding how this technique works when it is used to
assess interfacial tension, thus enabling more accurate predictions.