Radial distribution function: Difference between revisions

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{{cleanup-date|March 2006}}

In [[computational mechanics]] and [[statistical mechanics]], a '''radial distribution function''' (RDF), ''g''(''r''), describes how the density of surrounding matter varies as a function of the distance from a distinguished point. This is normalized by the average density such that the function goes to 1 far from the distinguished point when the medium is even slightly disordered. LocatingIf, for example, we choose to locate our distinguished point at the center of a hard-core particle with radius '''&sigma;''', ''g''(''r'') =will be 0 for ''r'' < '''&sigma;'''.

Given a [[potential energy]] function, the radial distribution function can be found via sampling -- see [[statistical mechanics]].