Fundamental measure theory and dimensional interpolation for the hard spheres fluid

This paper presents, a short review of the recent advances in the development of density functional for hard spheres. The fundamental measure theory, as developed originally by Y. Rosenfeld and in its more recent versions, is compared with other density functional approximations. The results for dimensional crossover from the hard spheres fluid in three dimensions to hard rods in one dimension and to zero-dimensional cavities are discussed. New results on the fluid-crystal coexistence and on the crossover to the hard disc fluid in two dimensions are presented. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.