Structure and pressure of a hard sphere fluid in a wedge-shaped cell or meniscus

Simulations of hard spheres in a wedge-shaped cell are reported. There is a tendency for the spheres near the vertex to have a solidlike structure and for those further from the vertex to have a fluidlike structure. The simulation density profiles exhibit discontinuities that are characteristic of structural changes in the fluid. Also, the density profile and pressure on the walls of the cell are computed by means of an integral equation. The pressure is large near the vertex and oscillates as the distance from the vertex increases or as the angular variable changes. The asymptotic value of the pressure is the bulk hard sphere pressure.