Activated instability of homogeneous droplet nucleation and growth.

For the pure-component supercooled Lennard-Jones vapor, the free energy of forming a droplet with a given particle number and volume is calculated using density-functional theory. In contrast to what was noted in previous studies, the free energy surface beyond the pseudosaddle point no longer exhibits a valley but rather channels the nuclei toward a locus of instabilities, initiating an unstable growth phase. Similar to a previous study of bubble formation in superheated liquids [M. J. Uline and D. S. Corti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 076102 (2007)], a new picture of homogeneous droplet nucleation and growth emerges.