Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Temperature Equilibration in Dense Hydrogen
Abstract
The temperature equilibration rate in dense hydrogen (for both Ti>Te and Ti<Te) has been calculated with molecular dynamics simulations for temperatures between 10 and 600 eV and densities between 1020/cc to 1024/cc. Careful attention has been devoted to convergence of the simulations, including the role of semiclassical potentials. We find that for Coulomb logarithms L>1, a model by Gericke-Murillo-Schlanges (GMS) [Gericke et al., PRE 65, 036418 (2002)] based on a T-matrix method and the approach by Brown-Preston-Singleton [Brown et al., Phys. Rep. 410, 237 (2005)] agrees with the simulation data to within the error bars of the simulation. For smaller Coulomb logarithms, the GMS model is consistent with the simulation results. Landau-Spitzer models are consistent with the simulation data for L>4.