Interacting hard-sphere fluids in an external field.

We present a method for studying equilibrium properties of interacting fluids in an arbitrary external field. The fluid is composed of monodisperse spherical particles with hard-core repulsion and additional interactions of arbitrary shape and limited range. Our method of analysis is exact in one dimension and provides demonstrably good approximations in higher dimensions. It can cope with homogeneous and inhomogeneous environments. We derive an equation for the pair distribution function. The solution, to be evaluated numerically, in general, or analytically for special cases, enters expressions for the entropy and free energy functionals. For some one-dimensional systems, our approach yields analytic solutions, reproducing available exact results from different approaches.

Density profiles of a self-gravitating lattice gas in one, two, and three dimensions.

We consider a lattice gas in spaces of dimensionality D=1,2,3. The particles are subject to a hardcore exclusion interaction and an attractive pair interaction that satisfies Gauss' law as do Newtonian gravity in D=3, a logarithmic potential in D=2, and a distance-independent force in D=1. Under mild additional assumptions regarding symmetry and fluctuations we investigate equilibrium states of self-gravitating material clusters, in particular radial density profiles for closed and open systems. We present exact analytic results in several instances and high-precision numerical data in others. The density profile of a cluster with finite mass is found to exhibit exponential decay in D=1 and power-law decay in D=2 with temperature-dependent exponents in both cases. In D=2 the gas evaporates in a continuous transition at a nonzero critical temperature. We describe clusters of infinite mass in D=3 with a density profile consisting of three layers (core, shell, halo) and an algebraic large-distance asymptotic decay. In D=3 a cluster of finite mass can be stabilized at T>0 via confinement to a sphere of finite radius. In some parameter regime, the gas thus enclosed undergoes a discontinuous transition between distinct density profiles. For the free energy needed to identify the equilibrium state we introduce a construction of gravitational self-energy that works in all D for the lattice gas. The decay rate of the density profile of an open cluster is shown to transform via a stretched exponential for 1

Monodisperse hard rods in external potentials.

We consider linear arrays of cells of volume V(c) populated by monodisperse rods of size σV(c),σ=1,2,..., subject to hardcore exclusion interaction. Each rod experiences a position-dependent external potential. In one application we also examine effects of contact forces between rods. We employ two distinct methods of exact analysis with complementary strengths and different limits of spatial resolution to calculate profiles of pressure and density on mesoscopic and microscopic length scales at thermal equilibrium. One method uses density functionals and the other statistically interacting vacancy particles. The applications worked out include gravity, power-law traps, and hard walls. We identify oscillations in the profiles on a microscopic length scale and show how they are systematically averaged out on a well-defined mesoscopic length scale to establish full consistency between the two approaches. The continuum limit, realized as V(c)→0,σ→∞ at nonzero and finite σV(c), connects our highest-resolution results with known exact results for monodisperse rods in a continuum. We also compare the pressure profiles obtained from density functionals with the average microscopic pressure profiles derived from the pair distribution function.

Statistically interacting vacancy particles.

The equilibrium statistical mechanics of one-dimensional lattice gases with interactions of arbitrary range and shape between first-neighbor atoms is solved exactly on the basis of statistically interacting vacancy particles. Two sets of vacancy particles are considered. In one set all vacancies are of one-cell size. In the other set the sizes of vacancy particles match the separation between atoms. Explicit expressions are obtained for the Gibbs free energy and the distribution of spaces between atoms at thermal equilibrium. Applications to various types of interaction potentials are discussed, including long-range potentials that give rise to phase transitions. Extensions to hard rod systems are straightforward and are shown to agree with existing results for lattice models and their continuum limits.

Interacting hard rods on a lattice: distribution of microstates and density functionals.

We derive exact density functionals for systems of hard rods with first-neighbor interactions of arbitrary shape but limited range on a one-dimensional lattice. The size of all rods is the same integer unit of the lattice constant. The derivation, constructed from conditional probabilities in a Markov chain approach, yields the exact joint probability distribution for the positions of the rods as a functional of their density profile. For contact interaction ("sticky core model") between rods, we give a lattice fundamental measure form of the density functional and present explicit results for contact correlators, entropy, free energy, and chemical potential. Our treatment includes inhomogeneous couplings and external potentials.

Exact density functional for hard-rod mixtures derived from Markov chain approach.

Using a Markov chain approach we rederive the exact density functional for hard-rod mixtures on a one-dimensional lattice, which forms the basis of the lattice fundamental measure theory. The transition probability in the Markov chain depends on a set of occupation numbers, which reflects the property of a zero-dimensional cavity to hold at most one particle. For given mean occupation numbers (density profile), an exact expression for the equilibrium distribution of microstates is obtained, which means an expression for the unique external potential that generates the density profile in equilibrium. By considering the rod ends to fall onto lattice sites, the mixture is always additive.