The gas-liquid surface tension of argon: A reconciliation between experiment and simulation

We present a simulation of the liquid-vapor interface of argon with explicit inclusion of the three-body interactions. The three-body contributions to the surface tension are calculated using the Kirkwood-Buff approach. Monte Carlo calculations of the long-range corrections to the three-body contribution are calculated from the radial distribution function g ((2))(Z(1) cos theta(12), r(12)). Whereas the effective two-body potentials overestimate the surface tension by more than 15%, the inclusion of the three-body potential provides an excellent agreement with the experimental results for temperatures up to 15?K below the critical temperature. We conclude that the three-body interactions must be explicitly included in accurately modelling the surface tension of argon. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.