Embeddedness of liquid-vapour interfaces in stable equilibrium (Q6186469)

Let \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^3\) be an open bounded set and let \(E\subset \mathbb{R}^3\) be a Caccioppoli set (that is a set whose characteristic function \(\chi_C\) is of locally bounded variation) with finite perimeter \(\mathrm{Per}_\Omega(E)\) in \(\Omega\), where \[ \mathrm{Per}_\Omega(E)=\sup\left\{\int_E \mathrm{div}(T)\colon \ T\in C^1_c(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^3), \ \sup|T|\leq 1\right\}. \] Consider a constant-density, incompressible liquid occupying the region \(E\) in a container whose interior is given by the set \(\Omega\) and assume that the liquid is subject to a volume constraint, it does not mix with the surrounding vapour and it may come into contact with the container. Moreover, assume that the liquid is subjected to the action of an analytic potential field \(g\). In this paper, the regularity of the liquid-vapour interface away from the container is investigated. In particular, the author shows that if \(E\) is ``physically stationary and stable'' (in a sense which is made precise in the paper) with respect to the free energy \({\mathcal E}_\Omega(E)=\mathrm{Per}_\Omega(E)+\int_{E\cap\Omega}gd{\mathcal L}^3\) of \(E\) in \(\Omega\), for volume preserving deformations inside \(\Omega\), then any portion of the reduced boundary of \(E\) (the measure-theoretic notion of boundary for a Caccioppoli set) that does not touch the solid support of the container is a smoothly embedded analytic surface.