Droplet minimizers for the Cahn-Hilliard free energy functional (Q819254)

Let \(\Omega\) be the \(d\)-dimensional square torus with volume \(L^d\). In the paper the free energy functional \[ {\mathcal{F}}(m)=\frac{\theta^2}{2}\int_\Omega| \nabla m| ^2 \,dx+ \int_\Omega F(m)\,dx, \] is considered, where \(\theta\) is a parameter with the units on length and \(F(m)=(m^2-1)^2/4\). The main subject of the paper is an investigation of the following minimization problem \[ f_L(n)=\inf\biggl\{{\mathcal{F}}(m): \frac{1}{L^d}\int_\Omega m(x)\,dx=n \biggr\}, \] where \(n\in (-1,1)\). Certain theorems are proved which characterize the minimizers of the above problem. Note that the free energy functional is used to describe the liquid vapor phase transitions for the Cahn-Hilliard model. The critical density for droplet formation and the geometry of droplets are exactly determined as well.