Transport properties of the two-component strongly coupled plasma

Abstract

The systematic derivation of transport coefficients for the semi-classical two-component strongly coupled plasma is presented. Starting from a detailed kinetic memory function formulation, a hydrodynamic projection operator method is applied to find a transport model equivalent to the two-Sonine polynomial approximation. The electron thermal conductivity K, d.c. electrical conductivity σ, and the thermoelectric power coefficient are expressed in terms of exact static correlation functions, which are calculated in the hypernetted chain approximation. Numerical values of k and σ are given and comparisons are made with other theories and molecular dynamics simulations of strongly coupled hydrogen. Predictions of σ and k for strongly coupled carbon are also presented.