Precise experimental determination of the structure of noble gases: two- and many-body contributions

Abstract

It is shown that, from recent measurements, the static structure factor S(k) in noble gas fluids can be determined with the precision of a few parts per thousand. Examples for argon at low density and krypton at high density are discussed and comparison with theoretical calculations are reported. The low-density case is analysed and compared with theory in terms of virial expansions, while at high density a refined modified hypernetted chain (MHNC) theory, which includes the three-body interaction, is used for the calculations. From the comparison the authors can conclude that precise information on the detail of the structure of the fluid and its connection with the microscopic interaction potential can be derived.