Generalized van der Waals analysis of critical drops and cavities in simple fluids

The classical treatment of critical drops and cavities in metastable bulk fluids is reexamined and extended by the use of simple generalized van der Waals (GvdW) approximations. Step function particle density profiles are assumed but the density of the nucleating phase is allowed to vary. The effect of metastability and surface curvature on the surface tension contribution to the excess free energy of the critical drop or cavity is examined. Significant reductions are found which may play an important role in the determination of nucleation rate phenomena.