X-Ray Scattering Studies of Liquid Surfaces

Abstract

X-ray reflectivity experiments on the structure of the liquid-vapor interface that were recently carried out by our group will be described. Systems that were studied include thin wetting layers adsorbed onto a solid substrate, the interfacial electron density profile of superfluid (^4)He, and preliminary measurements of the roughness of the surface of liquid gallium. The fundamental theoretical background to these experiments will be reviewed.