Precise determination of the void percolation threshold for two distributions of overlapping spheres
The void percolation threshold is calculated for a distribution of overlapping spheres with equal radii, and for a binary-sized distribution of overlapping spheres, where half of the spheres have radii twice as large as the other half. Using systems much larger than previous work, we determine a much more precise value for the percolation thresholds and correlation length exponent. The value of the percolation threshold for the monodisperse case is shown to be 0. 0301+/-0.0003, whereas the value for the bidisperse case is shown to be p(c)=0.0287+/-0.0005. The fact that these are significantly different is in contrast with previous, less precise works that speculated that the threshold might be universal with respect to sphere size distribution.
Rintoul
MD
MS 1111, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1111, USA.