Density functional theory of fluids in the isothermal-isobaric ensemble

We present a density functional theory for inhomogeneous fluids at constant external pressure. The theory is formulated for a volume-dependent density, n(r,V), defined as the conjugate variable of a generalized external potential, nu(r,V), that conveys the information on the pressure. An exact expression for the isothermal-isobaric free-energy density functional is obtained in terms of the corresponding canonical ensemble functional. As an application we consider a hard-sphere system in a spherical pore with fluctuating radius. In general we obtain very good agreement with simulation. However, in some situations a peak develops in the center of the cavity and the agreement between theory and simulation becomes worse. This happens for systems where the number of particles is close to the magic numbers N=13, 55, and 147. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.