Critical Wetting with Short-Range Forces: Is Mean-Field Theory Valid?

Abstract

Critical and tricritical wetting transitions are studied in a simple-cubic nearest-neighbor Ising model. The magnetization ${m}_{1}$ in the surface layer and the susceptibilities ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{11}=\frac{\ensuremath{\partial}{m}_{1}}{\ensuremath{\partial}{H}_{1}}$ and ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{1}=\frac{\ensuremath{\partial}{m}_{1}}{\ensuremath{\partial}H}$, where ${H}_{1}$ is the surface field and $H$ the bulk field, are calculated by use of Monte Carlo methods. The critical behavior of these quantities is found to be consistent with simple mean-field behavior; the singularities predicted by various renormalization-group treatments are not observed.