A SMALL SYSTEM GRAND ENSEMBLE METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF HARD-PARTICLE SYSTEMS

This paper introduces an alternative statistical geometrical method fo r the evaluation of the thermodynamic properties of hard-particle syst ems. We develop a general theory which allows one to express average q uantities in terms of geometrical ''measurables.'' The theory is teste d with the known exact results for the one-dimensional hard rod fluid. We also discuss the potential benefits of the theory in efficiently c alculating the chemical potential and pressure (using Monte Carlo meth ods) of dense hard-particle fluids in two and three dimensions. (C) 19 98 American Institute of Physics.