Making a (colloidal) liquid: A van der Waals approach

Abstract
The relation between the nature of the phase diagram and the pair potential is investigated on the basis of a recently introduced van der Waals theory. Both simple fluids and colloidal dispersions that admit a simple fluid description are considered. A necessary and sufficient condition for the occurrence of a liquid phase is formulated and studied for four specific cases. The results compare favorably with data obtained from other sources.