Statistical Field Theory for Simple fluids : Mean Field and Gaussian Approximations

J. - M. Caillol

Published 2002-11-06Version 1

We present an exact field theoretical representation of the statistical mechanics of simple classical liquids with short-ranged pairwise additive interactions. The action of the field theory is obtained by performing a Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation of the configurational Boltzmann factor. The mean field and Gaussian approximations of the theory are derived and applications to the liquid-vapour transition considered.