Analytical equation of state with three-body forces: application to noble gases

We developed an explicit equation of state (EOS) for small non polar molecules by means of an effective two-body potential. The average effect of three-body forces was incorporated as a perturbation, which results in rescaled values for the parameters of the two-body potential. These values replace the original ones in the EOS corresponding to the two-body interaction. We applied this procedure to the heavier noble gases and used a modified Kihara function with an effective Axilrod-Teller-Muto (ATM) term to represent the two- and three-body forces. We also performed molecular dynamics simulations with two- and three-body forces. There was good agreement between predicted, simulated, and experimental thermodynamic properties of neon, argon, krypton, and xenon, up to twice the critical density and up to five times the critical temperature. In order to achieve 1% accuracy of the pressure at liquid densities, the EOS must incorporate the effect of ATM forces. The ATM factor in the rescaled two-body energy is most important at temperatures around and lower than the critical one. Nonetheless, the rescaling of two-body diameter cannot be neglected at liquid-like densities even at high temperature. This methodology can be extended straightforwardly to deal with other two- and three-body potentials. It could also be used for other nonpolar substances where a spherical two-body potential is still a reasonable coarse-grain approximation.