Quantum theory for the dynamic microstructure in correlated two-component systems far from equilibrium -- Application to x-ray scattering

TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum theoretical framework to analyze the dynamic microstructure of non-equilibrium, correlated two-component systems like plasmas, providing new tools for interpreting x-ray scattering data in such states.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum theory for non-equilibrium structure factors, including effective local field corrections and a generalized decomposition for x-ray scattering analysis.

Findings

Derived expressions for local field corrections in non-equilibrium

Calculated polarization functions using perturbation expansion

Applied theory to model non-equilibrium distributions during laser heating

Abstract

We present a quantum theory for the dynamic structure factors in non-equilibrium, correlated, two-component systems such as plasmas or warm dense matter. Using this general framework, we derive expressions for effective local field corrections to the random phase approximation. The polarization function, which is needed as the input for the calculation of the structure factors, is calculated in non-equilibrium based on a perturbation expansion in the interaction strength. To make our theory applicable for x-ray scattering, a generalized Chihara decomposition for the total electron structure factor in non-equilibrium is derived. Examples are given for the special case of equilibrium and for a model bump-on-hot-tail distribution, as often encountered during laser heating of materials.