Two-temperature warm dense hydrogen as a test of quantum protons driven by orbital-free density functional theory electronic forces

Dongdong Kang, Kai Luo, Keith Runge, S. B. Trickey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

We consider a steady-state (but transient) situation in which a warm dense aggregate is a two-temperature system with equilibrium electrons at temperature Te, ions at Ti, and Te ≠ Ti. Such states are achievable by pump-probe experiments. For warm dense hydrogen in such a two-temperature situation, we investigate nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) on structure and thermodynamic properties, thereby delineating the limitations of ordinary ab initio molecular dynamics. We use path integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) simulations driven by orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) calculations with state-of-the-art noninteracting free-energy and exchange-correlation functionals for the explicit temperature dependence. We calibrate the OFDFT calculations against conventional (explicit orbitals) Kohn-Sham DFT. We find that when the ratio of the ionic thermal de Broglie wavelength to the mean interionic distance is larger than about 0.30, the ionic radial distribution function is meaningfully affected by the inclusion of NQEs. Moreover, NQEs induce a substantial increase in both the ionic and electronic pressures. This confirms the importance of NQEs for highly accurate equation-of-state data on highly driven hydrogen. For Te > 20 kK, increasing Te in the warm dense hydrogen has slight effects on the ionic radial distribution function and equation of state in the range of densities considered. In addition, we confirm that compared with thermostatted ring-polymer molecular dynamics, the primitive PIMD algorithm overestimates electronic pressures, a consequence of the overly localized ionic description from the primitive scheme.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number064403
JournalMatter and Radiation at Extremes
Volume5
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Two-temperature warm dense hydrogen as a test of quantum protons driven by orbital-free density functional theory electronic forces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this