New mean field theories for the liquid-vapor transition of charged hard spheres

TL;DR

This paper develops new mean field theories for the liquid-vapor transition in charged hard sphere systems, analyzing Coulomb potential regularization and comparing predictions with Monte Carlo data.

Contribution

It introduces novel mean field approximations based on statistical field theory for electrolyte phase behavior, emphasizing Coulomb potential regularization.

Findings

Critical temperature, chemical potential, and density predictions align with Monte Carlo data.

Regularization of Coulomb potential significantly affects phase transition predictions.

New theories improve understanding of electrolyte liquid-vapor transitions.

Abstract

The phase behavior of the primitive model of electrolytes is studied in the framework of various mean field approximations obtained recently by means of methods pertaining to statistical field theory (CAILLOL, J.-M., 2004, \textit{J. Stat. Phys.}, \textbf{115}, 1461). The role of the regularization of the Coulomb potential at short distances is discussed in details and the link with more traditional approximations of the theory of liquids is discussed. The values computed for the critical temperatures, chemical potentials, and densities are compared with available Monte Carlo data and other theoretical predictions.