Stopping power of strongly coupled electronic plasmas: sum rules and asymptotic forms

Dielectric function of dense plasmas, their stopping power, and sum rules

Mathematical, particularly, asymptotic properties of the random-phase approximation, Mermin approximation, and extended Mermin-type approximation of the coupled plasma dielectric function are analyzed within the method of moments. These models are generalized for two-component plasmas. Some drawbacks and advantages of the above models are pointed out. The two-component plasma stopping power is shown to be enhanced with respect to that of the electron fluid.

Sum rules for electron-hole bilayer and two-dimensional point dipole systems

We formulate and analyze the third-frequency-moment sum rules for the two-dimensional (point) dipole system (2DDS) and the mass-symmetric electron-hole bilayer (EHB) in their strongly coupled liquid phases. The former, characterized by the repulsive interaction potential φ_{D}(r)=μ^{2}/r^{3} (μ is the electric dipole moment), reasonably well approximates the latter in the d → 0 limit (d is the interlayer spacing), a conjecture that is further supported by the findings of the present work. We explore the extent to which the in-phase sum rule for the closely spaced EHB may or may not reconcile with its 2DDS sum-rule counterpart. This is the main emphasis of the present work.

Hydrodynamic theory for ion structure and stopping power in quantum plasmas

We present a theory for the dynamical ion structure factor (DISF) and ion stopping power in an unmagnetized collisional quantum plasma with degenerate electron fluids and nondegenerate strongly correlated ion fluids. Our theory is based on the fluctuation dissipation theorem and the quantum plasma dielectric constant that is deduced from a linearized viscoelastic quantum hydrodynamical (LVQHD) model. The latter incorporates the essential physics of quantum forces, which are associated with the quantum statistical pressure, electron-exchange, and electron-correlation effects, the quantum electron recoil effect caused by the dispersion of overlapping electron wave functions that control the dynamics of degenerate electron fluids, and the viscoelastic properties of strongly correlated ion fluids. Both degenerate electrons and nondegenerate strongly correlated ions are coupled with each other via the space charge electric force. Thus, our LVQHD theory is valid for a collisional quantum plasma at atomic scales with a wide range of the ion coupling parameter, the plasma composition, and plasma number densities that are relevant for compressed plasmas in laboratories (inertial confinement fusion schemes) and in astrophysical environments (e.g., warm dense matter and the cores of white dwarf stars). It is found that quantum electron effects and viscoelastic properties of strongly correlated ions significantly affect the features of the DISF and the ion stopping power (ISP). Unlike previous theories, which have studied ion correlations in terms of the ion coupling parameter, by neglecting the essential physics of collective effects that are competing among each other, we have here developed a method to evaluate the dependence of the plasma static and dynamical features in terms of individual parameters, like the Wigner-Seitz radius, the ion atomic number, and the ion temperature. It is found that due to the complex nature of charge screening in quantum plasmas, the ion coupling parameter alone cannot be a good measure for determining ion correlation effects in a collisional quantum plasma, and such a characteristic of a dense quantum plasma should be evaluated against each of the plasma parameters involved. The present investigation thus provides testable predictions for the DISF and ISP and is henceforth applicable to a wide range of compressed plasma categories ranging from laboratory to astrophysical warm dense matter.

Fast-projectile stopping power of quantal multicomponent strongly coupled plasmas

The Bethe-Larkin formula for the fast-projectile stopping power is extended to multicomponent plasmas. The results are to contribute to the correct interpretation of the experimental data, which could permit us to test existing and future models of thermodynamic, static, and dynamic characteristics of strongly coupled Coulomb systems.