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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Statistical theory of electronic degrees of freedom in wave packet molecular dynamics
Daniel Plummer1, Pontus Svensson1,2, Wiktor Jasniak1
1University of Oxford, Department of Physics, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We derive statistical distributions for the degrees of freedom in wave packet molecular dynamics models. Specifically, a theory is developed for the width distributions of Gaussian wave packets in both isotropic and anisotropic formulations. The resulting distribution functions show good agreement with molecular dynamics data under warm dense matter conditions, providing practical guidance for constraining the confining potential, an empirical parameter in the model. We also discuss how these distributions influence the resulting effective Coulomb interactions.
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