Higher-order phase transitions with line-tension effect
The behavior of energy minimizers at the boundary of the domain is of great importance in the Van de Waals-Cahn-Hilliard theory for fluid-fluid phase transitions, since it describes the effect of the container walls on the configuration of the liquid. This problem, also known as the liquid-drop problem, was studied by Modica in [Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Anal. non linéaire 4 (1987) 487–512], and in a different form by Alberti et al. in [Arch. Rational Mech. Anal.u is a scalar density function and...