Critical effects and scaling at meniscus osculation transitions

We propose a simple scaling theory describing critical effects at rounded meniscus osculation transitions which occur when the Laplace radius of a condensed macroscopic drop of liquid coincides with the local radius of curvature R_{w} in a confining parabolic geometry. We argue that the exponent β_{osc} characterizing the scale of the interfacial height ℓ_{0}∝R_{w}^{β_{osc}} at osculation, for large R_{w}, falls into two regimes representing fluctuation-dominated and mean-field-like behavior, respectively. These two regimes are separated by an upper critical dimension, which is determined here explicitly and depends on the range of the intermolecular forces. In the fluctuation-dominated regime, representing the universality class of systems with short-range forces, the exponent is related to the value of the interfacial wandering exponent ζ by β_{osc}=3ζ/(4-ζ). In contrast, in the mean-field regime, which was not previously identified and which occurs for systems with longer-range forces (and higher dimensions), the exponent β_{osc} takes the same value as the exponent β_{s}^{co} for complete wetting, which is determined directly by the intermolecular forces. The prediction β_{osc}=3/7 in d=2 for systems with short-range forces (corresponding to ζ=1/2) is confirmed using an interfacial Hamiltonian model which determines the exact scaling form for the decay of the interfacial height probability distribution function. A numerical study in d=3, based on a microscopic model density-functional theory, determines that β_{osc}≈β_{s}^{co}≈0.326 close to the predicted value of 1/3 appropriate to the mean-field regime for dispersion forces.