Thermal ionization in hydrogen plasma simulated using Feynman path integrals
- St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University (Russian Federation), E-mail: root@svsh.tu.neva.ru
Thermal ionization of hydrogen at temperatures on the order of 10{sup 4}-10{sup 5} K and densities within 10{sup 24}-10{sup 28} m{sup -3} has been simulated using Feynman path integrals. This method has been realized for the first time under conditions of a statistical ensemble with fluctuating volume. Multidimensional integrals have been calculated using the Monte Carlo simulation method that was preliminarily tested numerically on a problem of the quantum ground state of a confined hydrogen atom, which admits analytical solution. The position of isolines of the degree of ionization has been determined on the p-T plane of plasma states. The spatial correlation functions for electrons and nuclei are calculated, and the quantum effects in behavior of the electron component are evaluated. It is shown that, owing to the presence of strong Coulomb interactions, plasma retains a substantially quantum character in a broad domain of thermodynamic states, where a formal use of the degeneracy criterion predicts a classical regime. A basically exact stochastic method is developed for calculating the equilibrium kinetic energy of a spatially bounded system of quantum particles free of the dispersion divergence.
- OSTI ID:
- 21075724
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Vol. 105, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1134/S1063776107080134; Copyright (c) 2007 Nauka/Interperiodica; Article Copyright (c) 2007 Pleiades Publishing, Inc; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1063-7761
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANALYTICAL SOLUTION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CORRELATION FUNCTIONS
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRONS
FEYNMAN PATH INTEGRAL
GROUND STATES
HYDROGEN
IONIZATION
KINETIC ENERGY
MONTE CARLO METHOD
PLASMA
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEMPERATURE RANGE OVER 4000 K