The phase diagram of globular colloids is studied using a combined analytic and computational representation of the relevant chemical potentials. It is shown how the relative positions of the phase boundaries are related to the range of interaction and the number of contacts made per particle in the solid phase. The theory presented successfully describes the features of the phase diagrams observed in a wide variety of colloidal systems.

• Received 1 July 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.4832