Definitions for a local pressure in an inhomogeneous fluid are considered for both equilibrium and local equilibrium states. Thermodynamic and mechanical (hydrodynamic) contexts are reconciled. Remaining problems and uncertainties are discussed.
We present results from comprehensive event-driven (ED) simulations of nonlinear pattern formation in freely-evolving granular gases. In particular, we focus on the the morphologies of density and velocity fields in the inhomogeneous cooling state (ICS). We emphasize the strong analogy between the ICS morphologies and pattern formation in phase ordering systems with a globally conserved order parameter.
A simple model is proposed for the direct correlation function (DCF) for simple fluids consisting of a hard-core contribution, a simple parametrized core correction, and a mean-field tail. The model requires as input only the free energy of the homogeneous fluid, obtained, e.g., from thermodynamic perturbation theory. Comparison to the DCF obtained from simulation of a Lennard-Jones fluid shows this to be a surprisingly good approximation for a wide range of densities. The model is used to construct a density functional theory for inhomogeneous fluids which is applied to the problem of calcula…
Density profiles are the most common measure of inhomogeneous structure in confined fluids, but their connection to transport coefficients is poorly understood. We explore via simulation how tuning particle-wall interactions to flatten or enhance the particle layering of a model confined fluid impacts its self-diffusivity, viscosity, and entropy. Interestingly, interactions that eliminate particle layering significantly reduce confined fluid mobility, whereas those that enhance layering can have the opposite effect. Excess entropy helps to understand and predict these trends.
In order to provide a formally correct thermodynamical description of inhomogeneous fluids valid on all length scales down to the classical limit we postulate that all extensive quantities have locally extensive analogues. We derive local thermodynamic relations for the canonical and isothermal- isobaric ensembles without limitations with respect to the nature of intermolecular interactions. The inhomogeneity of the system is shown to result in two distinct entropic contributions. The intrinsic contribution is due the specific distribution of local environments experienced by a single molecule…
The focus of the present work is the application of the random phase approximation (RPA), derived for inhomogeneous fluids [Frydel and Ma, Phys. Rev. E 93, 062112 (2016)], to penetrable-spheres. As penetrable-spheres transform into hard-spheres with increasing interactions, they provide an interesting case for exploring the RPA, its shortcomings, and limitations, the weak- versus the strong-coupling limit. Two scenarios taken up by the present study are a one-component and a two-component fluid with symmetric interactions. In the latter case, the mean-field contributions cancel out and any con…
We present a lattice-based numerical method to describe the non equilibrium behavior of a simple fluid under non-uniform spatial conditions. The evolution equation for the one-particle phase-space distribution function is derived starting from a microscopic description of the system. It involves a series of approximations which are similar to those employed in theories of inhomogeneous fluids, such as Density Functional theory. Among the merits of the present approach: the possibility to determine the equation of state of the model, the transport coefficients and to provide an efficient method…
The effective pair potentials between different kinds of dendrimers in solution can be well approximated by appropriate Gaussian functions. We find that in binary dendrimer mixtures the range and strength of the effective interactions depend strongly upon the specific dendrimer architecture. We consider two different types of dendrimer mixtures, employing the Gaussian effective pair potentials, to determine the bulk fluid structure and phase behavior. Using a simple mean field density functional theory (DFT) we find good agreement between theory and simulation results for the bulk fluid struct…
A unified formulation of the density functional theory is constructed on the foundations of entropic inference in both the classical and the quantum regimes. The theory is introduced as an application of entropic inference for inhomogeneous fluids in thermal equilibrium. It is shown that entropic inference reproduces the variational principle of DFT when information about expected density of particles is imposed. In the classical regime, this process introduces a family of trial density-parametrized probability distributions, and consequently a trial entropy, from which the preferred one is fo…
We study the dependence of the surface tension of a fluid interface on the density profile of a third suspended phase. By means of an approximated model for the binary mixture and of a perturbative approach we derive close formulas for the free energy of the system and for the surface tension of the interface. Our results show a remarkable non-monotonous dependence of the surface tension on the peak of the density of the suspended phase. Our results also predict the local value of the surface tension in the case in which the density of the suspended phase is not homogeneous along the interface…
Using the adiabatic connection, we formulate the free energy in terms of the correlation function of a fictitious system, $h_λ({\bf r},{\bf r}')$, where $λ$ determines the interaction strength. To obtain $h_λ({\bf r},{\bf r}')$ we use the Ornstein-Zernike equation, and the two equations constitute a general liquid-state framework for treating inhomogeneous fluids. As the two equations do not form a closed set, an approximate closure relation is required and it determines a type of an approximation. In the present work we investigate the random phase approximation (RPA) closure. We determine th…
We propose a field-theoretical approach based on the thermodynamic perturbation theory and within it derive a grand thermodynamic potential of the inhomogeneous ionic fluid as a functional of electrostatic potential for an arbitrary reference fluid system. We obtain a modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation as the Euler-Lagrange equation for the obtained functional. Applying Noether's theorem to this functional, we derive a general mean-field expression for the stress tensor consistent with the respective modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation. We derive a general expression for the macroscopic force…
A field theoretic representation of the classical partition function is derived for a system composed of a mixture of anisotropic and isotropic mobile charges that interact {\sl via} long range Coulomb and short range nematic interactions. The field theory is then solved on a saddle-point approximation level, leading to a coupled system of Poisson-Boltzmann and Maier-Saupe equations. Explicit solutions are finally obtained for a rod-like counterion-only system in proximity of a charged planar wall, generalizing the standard Gouy-Chapman results. The nematic order parameter profile, the counter…
The connection between the Chapman-Enskog and Hilbert expansions is investigated in detail. In particular the fluid dynamics equations of any order in the Hilbert expansion are given in terms of the pressure tensor and heat current of the Chapman-Enskog expansion
The pressure in a classical Coulomb fluid at equilibrium is obtained from the Maxwell tensor at some point inside the fluid, by a suitable statistical average. For fluids in an Euclidean space, this is a fresh look on known results. But, for fluids in a curved space, a case which is of some interest, the unambiguous results from the Maxwell tensor approach have not been obtained by other methods.
The authors present a study of the non equilibrium statistical properties of a one dimensional hard-rod fluid dissipating energy via inelastic collisions and subject to the action of a Gaussian heat bath, simulating an external driving mechanism. They show that the description of the fluid based on the one-particle phase-space reduced distribution function, in principle necessary because of the presence of velocity dependent collisional dissipation, can be contracted to a simpler description in configurational space. Indeed, by means of a multiple-time scale method the authors derive a self-co…
Previously, it has been shown that the direct correlation function for a Lennard-Jones fluid could be modeled by a sum of that for hard-spheres, a mean-field tail and a simple linear correction in the core region constructed so as to reproduce the (known) bulk equation of state of the fluid(Lutsko, JCP 127, 054701 (2007)). Here, this model is combined with ideas from Fundamental Measure Theory to construct a density functional theory for the free energy. The theory is shown to accurately describe a range of inhomogeneous conditions including the liquid-vapor interface, the fluid in contact wit…
We study the influence of the relative size of the reservoir on the adsorption isotherms of a fluid in disordered or inhomogeneous mesoporous solids. We consider both an atomistic model of a fluid in a simple, yet structured pore, whose adsorption isotherms are computed by molecular simulation, and a coarse-grained model for adsorption in a disordered mesoporous material, studied by a density functional approach in a local mean-field approximation. In both cases, the fluid inside the porous solid exchanges matter with a reservoir of gas that is at the same temperature and chemical potential an…
Colloidal capsules can sustain an external osmotic pressure; however, for a sufficiently large pressure, they will ultimately buckle. This process can be strongly influenced by structural inhomogeneities in the capsule shells. We explore how the time delay before the onset of buckling decreases as the shells are made more inhomogeneous; this behavior can be quantitatively understood by coupling shell theory with Darcy's law. In addition, we show that the shell inhomogeneity can dramatically change the folding pathway taken by a capsule after it buckles.
We consider variational (density functional) models of fluids confined in parallel-plate geometries (with walls situated in the planes z=0 and z=L respectively) and focus on the structure of the pair correlation function G(r_1,r_2). We show that for local variational models there exist two non-trivial identities relating both the transverse Fourier transform G(z_μ, z_ν;q) and the zeroth moment G_0(z_μ,z_ν) at different positions z_1, z_2 and z_3. These relations form an algebra which severely restricts the possible form of the function G_0(z_μ,z_ν). For the common situations in which the equil…
In this work, the local pressure of fluids confined inside nanoslit pores is predicted within the framework of the density functional theory. The Euler-Lagrange equation in the density functional theory of statistical mechanics is used to obtain the force balance equation which leads to a general equation to predict the local normal component of the pressure tensor. Our approach yields a general equation for predicting the normal pressure of confined fluids and it satisfies the exact bulk thermodynamics equation when the pore width approaches infinity. As two basic examples, we report the solu…
Presenting simple coarse-grained models of isotropic solids and fluids in $d=1$, $2$ and $3$ dimensions we investigate the correlations of the instantaneous pressure and its ideal and excess contributions at either imposed pressure (NPT-ensemble, $λ=0$) or volume (NVT-ensemble, $λ=1$) and for more general values of the dimensionless parameter $λ$ characterizing the constant-volume constraint.
The fluctuation pressure that an infinitely extended fluid membrane exerts on two enclosing parallel hard walls is computed. Variational perturbation theory is used to extract the hard-wall limit from a perturbative expansion through six loops obtained with a smooth wall potential. Our result alpha=0.0821+/-0.0005 for the constant conventionally parametrizing the pressure lies above earlier Monte Carlo results.