From nonwetting to prewetting:: The asymptotic behavior of 4He drops on alkali substrates -: art. no. 024515

We investigate the spreading of He-4 droplets on alkali-metal surfaces at zero temperature, within the frame of finite range density-functional theory. The equilibrium configurations of several He-4(N) clusters and their asymptotic trend with increasing particle number N, which can be traced to the wetting behavior of the quantum fluid, are examined for nanoscopic droplets. We discuss the size effects inferring that the asymptotic properties of large droplets correspond to those of the prewetting film.