Coulomb Log for Conductivity of Dense Plasmas

Abstract

The Coulomb log (log {\Lambda}) approximation is widely used to approximate electron transport coefficients in dense plasmas. It is a classical approximation to the momentum transport cross section. The accuracy of this approximation for electrical conductivity in dense plasmas is assessed by comparing to fully quantum mechanical calculations for realistic scattering potentials. It is found that the classical approximation is accurate to +/-10% when log {\Lambda} > 3, irrespective of the plasma species. The thermodynamic regime (density and temperature) for which log {\Lambda} > 3 corresponds to does, however, strongly depend on the material. For increasing Z, log {\Lambda} is greater than 3 for increasingly high temperatures and lower densities.