Effective potential theory for transport coefficients across coupling regimes

Area of Science:

• Plasma physics
• Statistical mechanics

Background:

• Understanding plasma transport across different coupling regimes is crucial for various applications.
• Existing theories often struggle to accurately describe phenomena in strongly coupled plasmas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a unified plasma transport theory applicable from weak to strong coupling.
• To provide a practical model for calculating transport coefficients in diverse plasma conditions.

Main Methods:

• Developed a theory from a binary collision picture incorporating an effective potential.
• The effective potential self-consistently includes correlation effects and screening.
• Validated the theory against classical molecular dynamics and experimental data.

Main Results:

• The theory accurately models temperature relaxation in electron-ion plasmas.
• Demonstrated strong agreement with simulations and experiments for self-diffusion in one-component plasmas.
• The model successfully spans weak to strong coupling regimes.

Conclusions:

• The developed theory offers a versatile and accurate approach to plasma transport.
• This physically motivated model is applicable to various transport coefficients.
• Provides a valuable tool for studying diverse plasma systems.