Effective potential theory for transport coefficients across coupling regimes

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Jun 7;110(23):235001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.235001. Epub 2013 Jun 4.

Abstract

A plasma transport theory that spans weak to strong coupling is developed from a binary collision picture, but where the interaction potential is taken to be an effective potential that includes correlation effects and screening self-consistently. This physically motivated approach provides a practical model for evaluating transport coefficients across coupling regimes. The theory is shown to compare well with classical molecular dynamics simulations of temperature relaxation in electron-ion plasmas as well as simulations and experiments of self-diffusion in one-component plasmas. The approach is versatile and can be applied to other transport coefficients as well.