title: Communication: Fine discretization of pair interactions and an approximate analytical strategy for predicting equilibrium behavior of complex fluids.
abstract: We study whether fine discretization (i.e., terracing) of continuous pair interactions, when used in combination with first-order mean-spherical approximation theory, can lead to a simple and general analytical strategy for predicting the equilibrium structure and thermodynamics of complex fluids. Specifically, we implement a version of this approach to predict how screened electrostatic repulsions, solute-mediated depletion attractions, or ramp-shaped repulsions modify the radial distribution function and the potential energy of reference hard-sphere fluids, and we compare the predictions to exact results from molecular simulations.
authors.affiliation: McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Hollingshead
authors.forename: Avni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Truskett