Projected free energies for polydisperse phase equilibria
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A `polydisperse' system has an infinite number of conserved densities. We give a rational procedure for projecting its infinite-dimensional free energy surface onto a subspace comprising a finite number of linear combinations of densities (`moments'), in which the phase behavior is then found as usual. If the excess free energy of the system depends only on the moments used, exact cloud, shadow and spinodal curves result; two- and multi-phase regions are approximate, but refinable indefinitely by adding extra moments. The approach is computationally robust and gives new geometrical insights into the thermodynamics of polydispersity.
4 pages, REVTeX, uses multicol.sty and epsf.sty, 1 postscript figure included
4 pages, REVTeX, uses multicol.sty and epsf.sty, 1 postscript figure included