Ginzburg-Landau theory of the liquid-solid interface and nucleation for hard-spheres

Abstract

The Ginzburg-Landau free energy functional for hard-spheres is constructed using the Fundamental Measure Theory approach to Density Functional Theory as a starting point. The functional is used to study the liquid-fcc solid planer interface and the properties of small solid clusters nucleating within a liquid. The surface tension for planer interfaces agrees well with simulation and it is found that the properties of the solid clusters are consistent with classical nucleation theory.