Abstract
Novel universal behavior of the equilibrium crystal shape is reported: The Gaussian curvature, a product of two principal curvatures, assumes a universal jump across the facet contour at any temperature below the roughening temperature. This behavior is shown to be a consequence of a universal relation between the coefficients and in the small-p expansion (p is the surface gradient) of the interface free energy, . Both exact results on a solvable model and Monte Carlo calculations support this behavior—universal Gaussian-curvature jump at the facet edge.
- Received 5 May 1988
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.424
©1988 American Physical Society