The role of collisions and strong coupling in ultracold plasmas

Ionic transport in high-energy-density matter

Ionic transport coefficients for dense plasmas have been numerically computed using an effective Boltzmann approach. We have developed a simplified effective potential approach that yields accurate fits for all of the relevant cross sections and collision integrals. Our results have been validated with molecular-dynamics simulations for self-diffusion, interdiffusion, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. Molecular dynamics has also been used to examine the underlying assumptions of the Boltzmann approach through a categorization of behaviors of the velocity autocorrelation function in the Yukawa phase diagram. Using a velocity-dependent screening model, we examine the role of dynamical screening in transport. Implications of these results for Coulomb logarithm approaches are discussed.

Phase coexistence and a critical point in ultracold neutral plasmas

We show the existence of the liquid-vapor phase coexistence and a critical point for strongly coupled ions in ultracold neutral (UCN) plasmas. Expressions for the free energy of UCN plasmas and an equation of state for the ions are obtained in the mean field approximation. A van der Waals-like isotherm shows the existence of a critical point in UCN plasmas. Depending on the ion temperature, the ions are shown to exist in a mixed vapor-liquid phase for a range of the ion Coulomb coupling parameter Γ(i) (defined by the ratio between the ion interaction and the ion kinetic energies), and in a strongly coupled liquid state for values of Γ(i) above this range. The estimates of critical constants show that it may be possible to observe these phenomena in the present day UCN plasmas.