Implications of Yang-Lee theory for densities in the critical region

By fitting the density of zeros of the grand partition function, in the neighborhood of transition and critical points, to functional forms consistent with the qualitative behavior expected from the Yang-Lee theory of phase transitions, we show that the Yang-Lee theory implies (or is at least consistent with) scaling. We show that in scaling experimental data the reference density and chemical potentials should not be, in general, the critical values, but rather values associated with coexistence or with maxima in the isothermal compressibility. As an example we display data for water. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.