2 8 Se p 20 06 Finite - size effects on the behavior of the susceptibility in van der Waals films under + , + boundary conditions

We study critical point finite-size effects in the case of the susceptibility of a film in which interactions are characterized by a van der Waals-type power law tail. The geometry is appropriate to a slab-like system with two bounding surfaces. Boundary conditions are consistent with surfaces that both prefer the same phase in the low temperature, or broken symmetry, state. We take into account both interactions within the system and interactions between the constituents of the system and the material surrounding it. Specific predictions are made with respect to the behavior of a He and He films in the vicinity of their respective liquid-vapor critical points.