Energy relaxation in dense, strongly coupled two-temperature plasmas.

A quantum kinetic approach for the energy relaxation in strongly coupled plasmas with different electron and ion temperatures is presented. Based on the density operator formalism, we derive a balance equation for the energies of electrons and ions connecting kinetic, correlation, and exchange energies with a quite general expression for the electron-ion energy-transfer rate. The latter is given in terms of the correlation function of density fluctuations which allows for a derivation of increasingly realistic approximation schemes including a coupled-mode expression. The equilibration of the contributions of the total energy including the species temperatures in dense hydrogen and beryllium relevant for inertial confinement fusion is investigated as an example.

Structure of strongly coupled multicomponent plasmas.

We investigate the short-range structure in strongly coupled fluidlike plasmas using the hypernetted chain approach generalized to multicomponent systems. Good agreement with numerical simulations validates this method for the parameters considered. We found a strong mutual impact on the spatial arrangement for systems with multiple ion species which is most clearly pronounced in the static structure factor. Quantum pseudopotentials were used to mimic diffraction and exchange effects in dense electron-ion systems. We demonstrate that the different kinds of pseudopotentials proposed lead to large differences in both the pair distributions and structure factors. Large discrepancies were also found in the predicted ion feature of the x-ray scattering signal, illustrating the need for comparison with full quantum calculations or experimental verification.

Monte Carlo results for the hydrogen Hugoniot.

We propose a theoretical Hugoniot relation obtained by combining results for the equation of state from the direct path integral Monte Carlo technique (DPIMC) and those from reaction ensemble Monte Carlo (REMC) simulations. The main idea of this proposal is based on the fact that the DPMIC technique provides first-principle results for a wide range of densities and temperatures including the region of partially ionized plasmas. On the other hand, for lower temperatures where the formation of molecules becomes dominant, DPIMC simulations become cumbersome and inefficient. For this region it is possible to use accurate REMC simulations where bound states (molecules) are treated on the Born-Oppenheimer level. The remaining interaction is then reduced to the scattering between neutral particles which is reliably treated classically by applying effective potentials. The resulting Hugoniot is located between the experimental values of Knudson et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 225501 (2001)] and Collins et al. [Science 281, 1178 (1998)].

Reaction ensemble Monte Carlo technique and hypernetted chain approximation study of dense hydrogen.

In spite of the simple structure of hydrogen, up to now there is no unified theoretical and experimental description of hydrogen at high pressures. Recent results of Z-pinch experiments show a large deviation from those obtained by laser driven ones. Theoretical investigations including ab initio computer simulations show considerable differences at such extreme conditions from each other and from experimental values. We apply the reaction ensemble Monte Carlo technique on one hand and a combination of the hypernetted chain approximation with the mass action law on the other to study the behavior of dense hydrogen at such conditions. The agreement between both methods for the equation of state and for the Hugoniot curve is excellent. Comparison to other methods and experimental results is also performed.

Equation of state for weakly coupled quantum plasmas.

We calculate thermodynamic properties for a dense hydrogen plasma and a quantum electron gas using thermodynamic Green's function techniques. Our perturbation approach is appropriate to give reliable results in the weak coupling regime. In particular, the contribution of the exchange term of the order e(4) is fully included for the nondegenerate case as well as for the dense highly degenerate quantum region. We compare our results for the equation of state with data obtained by different numerical simulations.

Energy deposition of heavy ions in the regime of strong beam-plasma correlations.

The energy loss of highly charged ions in dense plasmas is investigated. The applied model includes strong beam-plasma correlation via a quantum T-matrix treatment of the cross sections. Dynamic screening effects are modeled by using a Debye-like potential with a velocity dependent screening length that guarantees the known low and high beam velocity limits. It is shown that this phenomenological model is in good agreement with simulation data up to very high beam-plasma coupling. An analysis of the stopping process shows considerably longer ranges and a less localized energy deposition if strong coupling is treated properly.

Kinetic and correlation energies and distribution functions of dense plasmas.

The mean value of the kinetic energy of a quantum plasma is investigated in Hartree-Fock and Montroll-Ward approximations using the method of thermodynamic Green's functions. Usually, one finds the kinetic energy to be larger than that of an ideal plasma due to the interaction between the particles in the system. However, also the opposite case is possible, i.e., a decrease of the kinetic energy compared to that of the ideal gas. This special correlation effect is found for temperatures of about 10(6) K and densities between 10(21) and 10(26) cm(-3). Here, the single-particle distribution function is shifted towards smaller momenta, and the binary distribution is changed.

Electrical conductivity of nonideal carbon and zinc plasmas: experimental and theoretical results.

Electrical conductivities of nonideal carbon and zinc plasmas have been measured in this paper. The plasma is produced by vaporizing a wire placed in a glass capillary within some hundred nanoseconds. In the case of carbon, vaporization occurs with good reproducibility when utilizing a preheating system. The particle density is in the range of n=(1-10) x 10(21) cm(-3). The plasma temperature, which is obtained by fitting a Planck function to the measured spectrum, is between 7-15 kK. Plasma radius and behavior of the plasma expansion were studied with a streak, a framing or an intensified charge coupled device camera. We compare the measured electrical conductivities with theoretical results, which were obtained solving quantum kinetic equations for the nonideal partially ionized plasmas. In this approach, the transport cross sections are calculated on the level of a T-matrix approximation using effective potentials. The plasma composition is determined from a system of coupled mass action laws with nonideality corrections.

Stopping power of nonideal, partially ionized plasmas.

The stopping power of strongly coupled, partially ionized plasmas is investigated for charged beam particles with arbitrary velocities. Our approach is based on kinetic equations of the Boltzmann type that are suitably generalized to describe three-particle collisions. In this way, we consider elastic collisions between the beam and free plasma particles as well as the ionization and excitation of composite plasma particles by beam particle impact. Explicit expressions for both contributions are given in terms of the momentum transfer cross section that has been generalized for three-particle collisions. For fast beam particles, we obtain a generalized Bethe formula that includes correction terms due to the nonideality of the target plasma. Results are shown for hydrogen, carbon, and argon plasmas. Considerable modifications compared to the ideal behavior arise for strongly coupled plasmas. In particular, we are able to describe the Mott transition in the stopping power of dense, partially ionized plasmas.

Dense plasma temperature equilibration in the binary collision approximation.

Temperature equilibration in dense, strongly coupled plasmas has been investigated without most of the usual simplifying assumptions. A quantum kinetic approach is used that accounts for strong electron-ion collisions through an exact T-matrix treatment of the scattering cross section using a screened interaction. Our results reveal the accuracy of the usual Spitzer formula for Coulomb logarithms larger than about three. Moreover, a simple model based on hyperbolic orbits yields surprisingly accurate results. We also have included equation of state effects to describe realistic plasmas.

Nonlinear collisional absorption in dense laser plasmas.

Collisional absorption of dense, fully ionized plasmas in strong laser fields is investigated starting from a quantum kinetic equation with non-Markovian and field-dependent collision integrals in dynamically screened Born approximation. This allows to find rather general balance equations for the energy and the current. For high-frequency laser fields, quantum statistical expressions for the electrical current density and the cycle-averaged electron-ion collision frequency in terms of the Lindhard dielectric function are derived. The expressions are valid for arbitrary field strength assuming the nonrelativistic case. Numerical results are presented to discuss these quantities as a function of the applied laser field and for different plasma parameters. In particular, nonlinear phenomena such as higher harmonics generation and multiphoton emission and absorption in electron-ion collisions are considered. The significance to include quantum effects is demonstrated comparing our results for the collision frequency with previous results obtained from classical theories.

Dynamical properties and plasmon dispersion of a weakly degenerate correlated one-component plasma.

Classical Molecular Dynamics simulations for a one-component plasma are presented. Quantum effects are included in the form of the Kelbg potential. Results for the dynamical structure factor are compared with the Vlasov and random phase approximation theories. The influence of the coupling parameter Gamma, degeneracy parameter rho Lambda(3), and the form of the pair interaction on the optical plasmon dispersion is investigated. An improved analytical approximation for the dispersion of Langmuir waves is presented.

Beam-plasma coupling effects on the stopping power of dense plasmas.

The stopping power for ion beams in dense plasmas is investigated on the basis of quantum kinetic equations. Strong correlations between the beam ions and the plasma particles which occur for high ion charge numbers and strongly coupled plasmas are treated on the level of the statically screened T-matrix (binary collision) approximation. Dynamic screening effects are included using a combined scheme which considers both close collisions and collective effects. Applying this approach, the ion charge number dependence of the stopping power is determined. The result is a modification of the Z(2)(b) scaling law. In particular, the stopping power is reduced for strong beam-plasma coupling. Good agreement is found between T-matrix results and simulation data (particle-in-cell and molecular dynamics) for low beam velocities.

Quantum kinetic theory of plasmas in strong laser fields.

A kinetic theory for quantum many-particle systems in time-dependent electromagnetic fields is developed based on a gauge-invariant formulation. The resulting kinetic equation generalizes previous results to quantum systems and includes many-body effects. It is, in particular, applicable to the interaction of strong laser fields with dense correlated plasmas.

Two-particle problem in a nonequilibrium many-particle system.

The two-particle problem within a nonequilibrium many-particle system is investigated in the framework of real-time Green's functions. Starting from the nonequilibrium Bethe-Salpeter equation on the Keldysh contour, a Dyson equation is given for two-time two-particle Green's functions. Thereby the well-known Kadanoff-Baym equations are generalized to the case of two-particle functions. The two-time structure of the equations is achieved in an exact way using the semigroup property of the free-particle propagators. The frequently used Shindo approximation is thus avoided. It turns out that results obtained earlier are valid only in limiting cases of a nondegenerate system or a static interaction, respectively. For the case of thermodynamic equilibrium, the differences to former results obtained for the effective two-particle Hamiltonian are discussed.