Observation of Singular Diameters in the Coexistence Curves of Metals

Abstract

We report the first reliable determination of the liquid-vapor coexistence curves of the metals cesium and rubidium. Both curves are noticeably different from those of nonmetallic fluids in their extreme vapor-liquid asymmetry which causes the law of rectilinear diameter to break down. The functional form of the diameter is consistent with the suggestion by Goldstein and Ashcroft that the strong state dependence of the effective interparticle forces leads to large amplitudes of the 1 -$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ anomaly.