Exact Normal Modes of Quantum Plasmas

Abstract

The normal modes, i.e., the eigen solutions to the dispersion relation equation, are the most fundamental properties of a plasma, which also of key importance to many nonlinear effects such as parametric and two-plasmon decay, and Raman scattering. The real part indicates the intrinsic oscillation frequency while the imaginary part the Landau damping rate. In most of the literatures, the normal modes of quantum plasmas are obtained by means of small damping approximation (SDA), which is invalid for high-$k$ modes. In this paper, we solve the exact dispersion relations via the analytical continuation (AC) scheme, and, due to the multi-value nature of the Fermi-Dirac distribution, reformation of the complex Riemann surface is required. It is found that the change of the topological shape of the root locus in quantum plasmas is quite different from classical plasmas, in which both real and imaginary frequencies of high-$k$ modes increase with $k$ in a steeper way than the typical linear behaviour as appears in classical plasmas. As a result, the temporal evolution of a high-$k$ perturbation in quantum plasmas is dominated by the ballistic modes.