Quasilocalized charge approximation in strongly coupled plasma physics

Abstract

The quasilocalized charge approximation (QLCA) was proposed in 1990 [G. Kalman and K. I. Golden, Phys. Rev. A 41, 5516 (1990)] as a formalism for the analysis of the dielectric response tensor and collective mode dispersion in strongly coupled Coulomb liquids. The approach is based on a microscopic model in which the charges are quasilocalized on a short-time scale in local potential fluctuations. The authors review the application of the QLC approach to a variety of systems which can exhibit strongly coupled plasma behavior: (i) the one-component plasma (OCP) model in three dimensions (e.g., laser-cooled trapped ions) and (ii) in two dimensions (e.g., classical 2D electron liquid trapped above the free surface of liquid helium), (iii) binary ionic mixture in a neutralizing uniform background (e.g., carbon–oxygen white dwarf interiors), (iv) charged particle bilayers (e.g., semiconductor electronic bilayers), and (v) charged particles in polarizable background (e.g., laboratory dusty plasmas).