Asymptotic solutions for the equilibrium crystal shape with small corner energy regularization

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2004 Jan;69(1 Pt 1):011603. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.69.011603. Epub 2004 Jan 20.

Abstract

Dynamic models for facet formation often employ a regularization of the surface energy based on a corner energy term. Here we consider the effect of this regularization on the equilibrium shape of a solid particle in two dimensions. Using matched asymptotic expansions we determine the explicit solution for the corner shape in the presence of the regularization. Our results show that for a class of surface energy anisotropy models the regularized solution approaches the classic sharp-corner results as the regularization approaches zero. The results validate the use of the regularization in numerical calculations for the equilibrium problem. Finally, a byproduct of the analysis is an exact solution for the equilibrium shape of a semi-infinite wedge in the presence of the regularization.