Computer Simulations of the Wetting Properties of Neon on Heterogeneous Surfaces

We use the grand canonical Monte Carlo method to study the nature of wetting transitions on a variety of heterogeneous surfaces. The model system we explore, Ne adsorption on Mg, is one for which a prewetting transition has been found in our previous simulations. We find that the first order transition present on the flat surface is absent from the rough surface. Nevertheless, the resulting isotherms are, in some cases, so close to being discontinuous that the distinction would be difficult to discern in most experiments.