Monte Carlo results for the hydrogen Hugoniot

Abstract

We propose a theoretical Hugoniot obtained by combining results for the equation of state (EOS) from the Direct Path Integral Monte Carlo technique (DPIMC) and those from Reaction Ensemble Monte Carlo (REMC) simulations. The main idea of such proposal is based on the fact that DPMIC provides first-principle results for a wide range of densities and temperatures including the region of partially ionized plasmas. On the other hand, for lower temperatures where the formation of molecules becomes dominant, DPIMC simulations become cumbersome and inefficient. For this region it is possible to use accurate REMC simulations where bound states (molecules) are treated on the Born-Oppenheimer level using a binding potential calculated by Kolos and Wolniewicz. The remaining interaction is then reduced to the scattering between neutral particles which is reliably treated classically applying effective potentials. The resulting Hugoniot is located between the experimental values of Knudson {\textit{et al.}} \cite{1} and Collins {\textit{et al.}} \cite{2}.