Influence of the range of attractive forces on vapor/liquid phase coexistence

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Abstract
The influence of the range of interparticle attractions on vapor/liquid coexistence in spherically symmetric systems has been investigated by mapping the pair potential on to the adhesive-hard-sphere model. Comparisons of our analytical predictions with recent Gibbs-Ensemble Monte Carlo simulations for the Yukawa potential show a very good agreement. The temperature range over which vapor/liquid coexistence is thermodynamically preferred shrinks as the range of attraction decreases, and for short ranges the coexistence curve flattens, consistent with the results of the simulations. Using the Sutherland potential model we also show that for very small ranges of attraction the liquid state is unstable down to very small temperatures and that a fluid/solid transition is preferred.