The Enskog-Vlasov equation: a kinetic model describing gas, liquid, and solid

The Enskog-Vlasov (EV) equation is a semi-empiric kinetic model describing gas liquid phase transitions. In the framework of the EV equation, these correspond to an instability with respect to infinitely long perturbations, developing in a gas state when the temperature drops below (or density rises above) a certain threshold. In this paper, we show that the EV equation describes one more instability, with respect to perturbations with a finite wavelength and occurring at a higher density. This instability corresponds to fluid-solid phase transition and the perturbations' wavelength is essentially the characteristic scale of the emerging crystal structure. Thus, even though the EV model does not describe the fundamental physics of the solid state, it can 'mimic' it-and, thus, be used in applications involving both evaporation and solidification of liquids. Our results also predict to which extent a pure fluid can be overcooled before it definitely turns into a solid.