Measurement of the electrical resistivity of a dense strongly coupled plasma.

Abstract

We present measurements of the electrical resistivity of a dense strongly coupled plasma. This plasma is created in a comprehensively diagnosed capillary discharge that produces uniform well-characterized dense plasmas. Data for polyurethane at densities \ensuremath{\rho}=0.01${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{0}$, where ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{0}$=1.265 g/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$, and temperatures in the 25--30 eV range are compared with several dense plasma theories, and show a significant disagreement. These results are of importance for the modeling of pulsed power experiments and the understanding of transport processes in many astrophysical plasmas.