Perturbation theory for solids

Abstract

The perturbation theory recently developed by Weeks, Chandler, and Andersen is applied to the solid phase of a rare gas near its melting line. The potential is separated into two parts: a reference part containing all the repulsive forces and a perturbation part containing all the attractions. We show that the expansion of the free energy in the perturbation potential is, as in the liquid phase, rapidly convergent for a temperature of the order of the triple-point temperature. On the contrary, the representation of the reference system by hard spheres with an appropriate diameter is less accurate than in the liquid phase. This representation requires the knowledge of the radial distribution functions of the hard-sphere solid for which we give a tabulation as well as an analytical representation. The perturbation theory is applied to the determination of the fluid-solid transition.