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Phase fluctuations in a confined fluid
Frédéric Caupin1, Alberto Zaragoza2, Miguel A Gonzalez3
1Institut Lumière Matière, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut Universitaire de France, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|July 20, 2026
Summary
Investigating metastable vapor bubbles in closed systems reveals their collapse lifetime. Small systems may exhibit phase flipping, where the fluid oscillates between liquid and bubble states, as shown in a Lennard-Jones fluid simulation.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Fluid phase equilibrium is governed by external constraints like volume and density.
- In closed systems, vapor bubbles can exist in stable, metastable, or unstable states relative to the homogeneous liquid.
- Metastable states are crucial for understanding phase transitions and system dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the lifetime of metastable vapor bubbles in closed systems.
- To explore the lifetime of the homogeneous liquid phase in the presence of metastable bubbles.
- To predict and observe phenomena like phase flipping in small fluid systems.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of fluid phase equilibrium under confinement.
- Computational simulations, specifically using a Lennard-Jones fluid model.
- Analysis of bubble dynamics, including collapse times and phase transitions.
Main Results:
- The average waiting time for bubble collapse (lifetime) was studied for metastable bubbles.
- The corresponding lifetime of the homogeneous liquid phase was analyzed.
- Phase flipping, an oscillation between liquid and bubble states, was predicted for small systems.
- Phase flipping was successfully observed in simulations of a Lennard-Jones fluid.
Conclusions:
- The lifetime of metastable vapor bubbles and homogeneous liquid phases can be quantified.
- Phase flipping is a predictable phenomenon in small, confined fluid systems.
- Simulations provide valuable insights into complex fluid behaviors like phase flipping.
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