Quantum corrected cell model for an anharmonic generalized Lennard-Jones solid Original Research Article

A simple method is proposed to dispose the quantum effect and anharmonic effect at the same time. Considering the quantum effect is remarkable only at low temperature, and tends to zero at high temperature, the potential energy of an atom is expanded harmonically to consider the quantum effect of solids within the harmonic oscillator framework. The anharmonic effect is remarkable only at high temperature, and tends to zero at low temperature, it was disposed by using a classical approximation. The universal formalism is applied to the generalized Lennard-Jones solid. The comparison shows that the results with and without anharmonic effect are in agreement with each other at some low temperature, to which the Einstein model is applicable. The results without anharmonic effect become divergent at slightly higher temperatures; however, the results including anharmonic effect are in good agreement with the experimental data of solid xenon. The method proposed in this paper can be extended to other potentials to develop practical molecular thermodynamic equations of state for solids.