# Conductivity and Dissociation in Metallic Hydrogen: Implications for Planetary Interiors

## TL;DR

This study measures the optical conductivity of liquid metallic hydrogen under high pressure, revealing its largely atomic state and implications for planetary interiors, especially gas giants like Jupiter.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed optical conductivity measurements of LMH at high pressures using the Drude model, highlighting its atomic dissociation and planetary relevance.

## Key findings

- Electrical conductivity of 11,000-15,000 S/cm
- LMH is largely atomic and degenerate
- Implications for planetary structure models

## Abstract

Liquid metallic hydrogen (LMH) was recently produced under static compression and high temperatures in bench-top experiments. Here, we report a study of the optical reflectance of LMH in the pressure region of 1.4-1.7 Mbar and use the Drude free-electron model to determine its optical conductivity. We find static electrical conductivity of metallic hydrogen to be 11,000-15,000 S/cm. A substantial dissociation fraction is required to best fit the energy dependence of the observed reflectance. LMH at our experimental conditions is largely atomic and degenerate, not primarily molecular. We determine a plasma frequency and the optical conductivity. Properties are used to analyze planetary structure of hydrogen rich planets such as Jupiter.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1701.03532