Variational modified hypernetted-chain approximation for multicomponent liquids: Formalism and application to simple-liquid binary mixtures

Abstract
In this paper we extend the variational modified hypernetted-chain theory to multicomponent liquids. Following the hypothesis of universality of the bridge functions we use the additive hard-sphere Percus-Yevick bridge functions. This can be seen as a first step in a bootstrap procedure. The theory is applied to binary mixtures interacting via Lennard-Jones potentials, and its accuracy is assessed by comparing with simulation results. We also compare this theory with others regarded to be of comparable accuracy.