Equation of state of dense plasma mixtures: application to the Sun center

TL;DR

This paper develops a self-consistent quantum-mechanical model for dense plasma mixtures, applying it to determine the pressure at the Sun's center, accounting for electron screening and ion interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to modeling dense plasma mixtures using an ion-sphere model with quantum treatment of electrons, applicable to stellar environments.

Findings

Pressure at Sun's center calculated with new model

Variation of atomic radii with temperature analyzed

Model confirms electronic pressure equality across species

Abstract

We present a self-consistent approach to the modeling of dense plasma mixtures in local thermodynamic equilibrium. In each electron configuration the nucleus is totally screened by electrons in a Wigner-Seitz sphere (ion-sphere model). Bound and free electrons are treated quantum-mechanically. The assumption that all species should have the same electronic environment leads to the equality of the electronic pressure for all ions of all elements having therefore different cell volumes. The variation of the average atomic radii of the different elements with respect to temperature is investigated, and the procedure is applied to the determination of pressure in the Sun center.