Stability of axisymmetric liquid bridges (Q903252)

Let \(C: (x(t), y(t))\), \(t_1 \leq t \leq t_2\), be a plane curve with endpoints \((x(t_j), y(t_j)), j=1,2\) along two given curves \(S_j\) parametrized by \((X_j(\tau_j), Y_j(\tau_j)), 0 \leq \tau_j \leq \tau^*_j\). Consider the first isoperimetric problem for the functional \(E[x, y]\), \[ E[x,y] = \int_{t_1}^{t_2}E(x,y,x', y')dt + \sum_{j=1}^2 \int_0^{\tau^*_j}A_j(X_j, Y_j, X_{j}', Y_{j}')d\tau_j, \] with constraint \(V[x,y]=1\) imposed on the functional \[ V[x,y] = \int_{t_1}^{t_2}V(x,y,x', y')dt + \sum_{j=1}^2 (-1)^j\int_0^{\tau^*_j}B_j(X_j, Y_j, X_{j}', Y_{j}')d\tau_j. \] Here, \(E\) and \(V\) are assumed to be positive homogeneous functions of degree one in \(x'\) and \(y'\). One of the main problems is to find an extremal curve \({\overline C}: (\bar x(t), \bar y(t))\) with free endpoints \(\bar x(t_j), \bar y(t_j)\) which belong to two given curves \(S_j\) such that the functional \(E[x,y]\) reaches its minimum, while the other functional \(V[x,y]\) is constrained. The authors consider a functional \(W[x,y] = E[x,y]- \lambda V[x,y]\) with the multiplier \(\lambda\). Based on the Weierstrass representation of the second variation \(\delta^2W\), the authors establish the stability criterion for the isoperimetric problem with minimized and constrained two-dimensional functionals mentioned above, and apply this theory to the axisymmetric liquid bridge between two axisymmetric solid bodies without gravity to determine the stablity of menisci with free contact lines.