An alternative construction of the Percus-Yevick equation based on the equilibrium BBGKY hierarchy

The existing derivations of the Percus-Yevick equation are not readily extendable into the nonequilibrium domain. In particular, the elegant Percus functional construction relies on a test particle theorem which lacks an exact nonequilibrium generalization. We propose here a new construction which utilizes some elementary ideas of functional expansions together with the equilibrium BBGKY hierarchy of equations. Also, we feel this new construction provides fresh insight into the physical basis of the equilibrium Percus-Yevick equation.This research was supported in part by a grant from the Faculty Research Award Program of the City University of New York.