Diagrammatic analysis of correlations in polymer fluids: cluster diagrams via Edwards' field theory (Q850056)

After defining the mixture of several molecular species constructed from a palette of various types of monomers, one recalls the field (mean field, Gaussian field) theoretic approach to the statistical mechanics of polymer liquids. It appears that the expansion of the grand-canonical partition function can be suitably represented by graphs and diagrams and this is the core of the paper. The question is thoroughly dealt with and most of its features are examined: chain and rings, collective cluster functions, intra-molecular correlations, vertex renormalization, partial renormalization of the root vertex, expansion in terms of renormalized vertices with bonds characterizing screened interaction, bond-irreductible diagrams, correlation functions, Mayer cluster. An extended appendix displays auxiliary materials.