Liquid-vapor phase behavior of a symmetrical binary fluid mixture

Using Monte Carlo simulation and mean-field calculations, we study the liquid-vapor phase diagram of a square-well binary fluid mixture as a function of a parameter d measuring the relative strength of interactions between particles of dissimilar and similar species. The results reveal a rich variety of liquid-vapor coexistence behaviors as d is tuned. Specifically, we uncover critical end point behavior, a triple point involving a vapor and two liquids of different density, and tricritical behavior. For a certain range of d , the mean-field calculations also predict a ‘‘hidden’’ ~metastable! liquid-vapor binodal. @S1063-651X~98!06308-9#