On the behaviour of small clusters near the spinodal decomposition

Abstract

The canonical average of the Boltzmann factor of the interaction potential, as measured by a test particle, is shown to be equal to the inverse of the fraction of the average number (m_l) of 1-particle Mayer clusters. The potential distribution theory is used to derive an analytic expression for a mean number of small clusters (m_n, 1 ≤ n < N, in an N-particle system) in the mean-field expression. Near the spinodal density, the average number of small clusters undergo a sharp change. Computation of pressure shows that only the first four clusters produce surprisingly good agreement with known pressure even beyond the spinodal density.