Extended universality of the surface curvature in equilibrium crystal shapes

We investigate the universal property of curvatures in surface models that display a flat phase and a rough phase whose criticality is described by the Gaussian model. Earlier we derived a relation between the Hessian of the free energy and the Gaussian coupling constant in the six-vertex model. Here we show its validity in a general setting using renormalization group arguments. The general validity of the relation is confirmed numerically in the restricted solid-on-solid model by comparing the Hessian of the free energy and the Gaussian coupling constant in a transfer matrix finite-size-scaling study. The Hessian relation gives a clear understanding of the universal curvature jump at roughening transitions and facet edges and also provides an efficient way of locating the phase boundaries. @S1063-651X~97!12007-4#