Two-component Gaussian core model: strong-coupling limit, Bjerrum pairs, and gas-liquid phase transition

Abstract

In the present work we investigate a gas-liquid transition in a two-component Gaussian core model, where particles of the same species repel and those of different species attract. Unlike a similar transition in a one-component system with particles having attractive interactions at long separations, and repulsive interactions at short separations, a transition in the two-component system is not driven solely by interactions, but by a specific feature of the interactions, the correlations. This leads to extremely low critical temperature, as correlations are dominant in the strong-coupling limit. By carrying out various approximations based on standard liquid-state methods, we show that a gas-liquid transition of the two-component system posses a challenging theoretical problem.