THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR METAL-ATOM FLUIDS - A RESPONSE TO THE EXPERIMENTAL CHALLENGE

The experimental work of the Marburg group, led by Friedrich Hensel, h as posed the challenge to theory of accounting for the thermodynamic a nd electronic properties of metal-atom fluids. This paper briefly revi ews my efforts over the last dozen years and the recent result of a co llaboration with E. Chacon and P. Tarazona which has proposed a genera l framework within which a broad response to the experimental challeng e may be attempted. The general framework is described along with a to y model, as an example, which indeed yields the type of thermodynamic and electronic features observed experimentally. An approach which may allow a realistic treatment of the problem is sketched.