Correlations in hot dense helium

Abstract

Hot dense helium is studied with first-principle computer simulations. By combining path integral Monte Carlo and density functional molecular dynamics, a large temperature and density interval ranging from 1000 to 1 000 000 K and 0.4 to 5.4 g cm−3 becomes accessible to first-principle simulations and the changes in the structure of dense hot fluids can be investigated. The focus of this paper is on pair correlation functions between nuclei, between electrons, and between electrons and nuclei. The density and temperature dependence of these correlation functions is analyzed in order to describe the structure of the dense fluid helium at extreme conditions.