3-PARTICLE CORRELATIONS IN THE OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF GRANULAR COMPOSITES

The effective dielectric response of a system of spherical inclusions embedded in an otherwise homogeneous matrix has been calculated using, in the Maxwell Garnett formula, a renormalized polarizability instead of the bare one (Phys. Rev. B 38, 5371 (1988)). This renormalized polarizability was given as a functional of the two- and three-particle distribution functions and results were presented for a very crude approximation of the three-particle distribution function. Here we extend these results and analyze the effects of the three-particle correlations by using the best available form of this functional. We compare our results with other theoretical approaches and recent numerical simulations.