Mayer F-function

The Mayer f-function is an auxiliary function that often appears in the series expansion of thermodynamic quantities related to classical many-particle systems.Donald Allan McQuarrie, ''Statistical Mechanics'' (HarperCollins, 1976), page 228
It is named after chemist and physicist Joseph Edward Mayer.

Definition

Consider a system of classical particles interacting through a pair-wise potential
:$V(\mathbf,\mathbf)$
where the bold labels $\mathbf$ and $\mathbf$ denote the continuous degrees of freedom associated with the particles, e.g.,
:$\mathbf=\mathbf_i$
for spherically symmetric particles and
:$\mathbf=(\mathbf_i,\Omega_i)$
for rigid non-spherical particles where $\mathbf$ denotes position and $\Omega$ the orientation parametrized e.g. by Euler angles. The Mayer f-function is then defined as
:$f(\mathbf,\mathbf)=e^-1$
where $\beta=(k_T)^$ the inverse absolute temperature in units of (Temperature times the Boltzmann constant $k_$)⁻¹ .

See also

*Virial coefficient
* Cluster expansion
*Excluded volume

Notes

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Special functions