skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: General structure of the Thomas-Fermi equation of state

Journal Article · · Physical Review A. General Physics; (United States)
;  [1]
  1. Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of California, Los Alamos, New Mexico (USA)

We derive the behavior of the Thomas-Fermi equation of state near both the hot-curve'' (the limit as {ital T}{r arrow}{infinity} for a fixed de Broglie length) and the cold-curve'' (the zero-temperature isotherm) by using perturbation methods. We derive efficient computational formulas for the coefficients in these expansions using Pade methods. We are able to meld all of these results into a structurally correct representation of the Thomas-Fermi fluid pressure. We indicate how this representational structure can be used to construct the equation of state for realistic materials over large ranges of temperature and pressure. We also discuss the computation of the degree of ionization with and without the exchange correction.

OSTI ID:
5369615
Journal Information:
Physical Review A. General Physics; (United States), Vol. 44:4; ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English