Kinetic theory for strongly coupled Coulomb systems

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Theoretical physics
• Computational materials science

Background:

• Calculating dynamical properties for matter under extreme conditions is complex.
• Existing models like Kubo-Greenwood (using DFT) have phenomenological origins, while kinetic theories are limited to weak interactions.
• A unified approach is needed to address these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a combined theoretical framework merging density-functional theory (DFT) and kinetic theory.
• To provide a theoretical basis for DFT-related models like Kubo-Greenwood and identify their corrections.
• To calculate dynamical properties without limitations of existing methods.

Main Methods:

• Calculated short-time dynamics in the single-electron subspace for specific ion configurations.
• Determined effective ion-electron interactions, including strong Coulomb coupling, from DFT.
• Derived correlation functions resembling random-phase approximation but with renormalized potentials.

Main Results:

• Developed a method that naturally combines DFT and kinetic theory from the short-time limit.
• The effective ion-electron interaction is derived from DFT, accounting for strong Coulomb coupling.
• Calculated dynamic structure function, density response, and electrical conductivity, identifying static local field corrections.

Conclusions:

• The combined approach provides a theoretical context for DFT-based models and clarifies their corrections.
• The method successfully calculates dynamical properties for strongly coupled systems.
• Future work includes quantizing the kinetic theory for broader applicability beyond semiclassical electrons.