English

Conditional entropy; an alternative derivation of the pair correlation function for simple classical fluids

Statistical Mechanics 2021-05-10 v1

Abstract

We present an alternative derivation of the pair correlation function for simple classical fluids by using a variational approach. That approach involves the conditional probability p(3,..., N /1, 2) of an undefined system of N particles with respect to a given pair (1,2), and the definition of a conditional entropy σ\sigma(3,..., N /1, 2). An additivity assumption of σ\sigma(3,..., N /1, 2) together with a superposition assumption for p(3 / 1, 2) allows deriving the pair probability p(1,2). We then focus onto the case of simple classical fluids, which leads to an integral, non-linear equation that formally allows computing the pair correlation function g(R). That equation admits the one resulting from the hyper netted chain approximation (and the Percus-Yevick approximation) as a limit case.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2105.03191,
  title  = {Conditional entropy; an alternative derivation of the pair correlation function for simple classical fluids},
  author = {Richard Bonneville},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.03191},
  year   = {2021}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T01:52:23.639Z