Thermodynamic properties of inhomogeneous fluids

A general method, the method of variation under extension, is presented for expressing the thermodynamic properties of an inhomogeneous fluid as functionals of the local number density, when given a density functional for the total thermodynamic grand potential of the fluid. The method is demonstrated in detail for the van der Waals square-gradient density functional and for the nonlocal density functional which arises in the theory of fluids with long-ranged pair potentials or in the mean-field theory of penetrable-sphere models. As specific examples, we consider the planar and spherical interface between two fluid phases, the line of contact of three fluid phases, the contact line between two surface phases and the planar interface between a solid and fluid.