Structure of classical fluid of charged hard spheres and point lons in the perturbation of a small non-responsive, uniform background density

Abstract

Abstract In liquid Te, the model of Cabane and Friedel is based on the coexistence of a network of strong covalent bonds with a metallic-like electron gas. We have attempted to simulate the gross features of this situation by studying a classical fluid of charged hard spheres, plus point charges (classical electrons!), all moving in a small neutralizing negative background density. An exact solution of even this model will require computer simulation. We have therefore worked in the approximation of the mean spherical model. Also, we treat the neutralizing background only to first order in the background density. The main effect of the background is to increase the height of the contact value of g(r) for the hard sphere pair correlations. This appears to correspond qualitatively with the high temperature behaviour of liquid Te.