DETERMINATION OF THE LOCATION AND ORDER OF THE DRYING TRANSITION WITH A MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATION

The wetting transition is mostly found to be first order, but the nature of the drying transition in realistic systems is debated. We have simulated the wetting and drying of a wall and, by a careful inspection of the variation of the contact angle on the approach of the transition, find strong evidence for a continuous drying transition. Moreover, the drying point is located an order of magnitude more accurately with respect to previous attempts.