On extrapolation of virial coefficients of hard spheres

Abstract

Several methods of extrapolating the virial coefficients, including those proposed in this work, are discussed. The methods are demonstrated on predicting higher virial coefficients of one-component hard spheres. Estimated values of the eleventh to fifteenth virial coefficients are suggested. It has been speculated that the virial coefficients, B_n, beyond B_{14} may decrease with increasing n, and may reach negative values at large n. The extrapolation techniques may be utilized in other fields of science where the art of extrapolation plays a role.