Shell-structure effects on high-pressure Rankine-Hugoniot shock adiabats

TL;DR

This paper investigates how shell-structure effects influence high-pressure shock adiabats using quantum models, providing insights into pressure, shock velocity, and maximum compression in extreme conditions.

Contribution

It introduces two quantum self-consistent models that incorporate shell effects to accurately calculate shock adiabats at very high pressures.

Findings

Shell effects significantly impact pressure and shock velocity.

Quantum models align well with experimental data.

An analytical estimate for maximum compression is proposed.

Abstract

Rankine-Hugoniot shock adiabats are calculated in the pressure range 1 Mbar-10 Gbar with two atomic-structure models: the atom in a spherical cell and the atom in a jellium of charges. These quantum self-consistent-field models include shell effects, which have a strong impact on pressure and shock velocity along the shock adiabat. Comparisons with experimental data are presented and quantum effects are interpreted in terms of electronic specific heat. A simple analytical estimate for the maximum compression is proposed, depending on initial density, atomic weight and atomic number.