title: Capillary Leveling of Freestanding Liquid Nanofilms.
abstract: We report on the capillary-driven leveling of a topographical perturbation at the surface of a freestanding liquid nanofilm. The width of a stepped surface profile is found to evolve as the square root of time. The hydrodynamic model is in excellent agreement with the experimental data. In addition to exhibiting an analogy with diffusive processes, this novel system serves as a precise nanoprobe for the rheology of liquids at interfaces in a configuration that avoids substrate effects.
authors: Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Ilton
authors: Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors: Miles M P
authors: MM
authors: Couchman
authors: Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
authors: Cedric
authors: C
authors: Gerbelot
authors: Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Benzaquen
authors: Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors: Paul D
authors: PD
authors: Fowler
authors: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors: Howard A
authors: HA
authors: Stone
authors: Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
authors: Elie
authors: E
authors: Raphaël
authors: Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.|Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
authors: Kari
authors: K
authors: Dalnoki-Veress
authors: Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.|Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.|Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0808, Japan.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Salez