Thermocapillary self-interaction of laser radiation in thin layers of an absorbing liquid

The thermal and hydrodynamic problems of mass transfer in thin layers of a liquid are solved for the case when the liquid is subject to gradients of tangential forces on the surface created because of a change in the surface tension resulting from heating with the Gaussian laser beam. An equation for the profile of the surface of the liquid is derived allowing for both gravity and capillary pressures.