The strain rate dependence of shear viscosity, pressure and energy from two-body and three-body interactions

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations (NEMD) are reported for the shear viscosity of xenon using accurate two- and three-body potentials. The hydrostatic pressure and energy are observed to vary proportionally with the square of the strain rate. This is in contrast to the non-analytic three-halves power dependence on strain rate predicted by mode-coupling theory. This result is attributed solely to the two-body potential. The main effect of the three-body potential is to alter the magnitude of the pressure, energy and viscosity profiles.