# Ionization potential depression and dynamical structure factor in dense plasmas

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how ionic correlations and fluctuations influence ionization potential depression in dense plasmas, using quantum statistical theory and the ionic dynamical structure factor, with applications to aluminum and CH plasmas.

## Contribution

It introduces the ionic dynamical structure factor as a key indicator for ionic micro-fields, highlighting the importance of ionic correlations in ionization potential depression.

## Key findings

- Ionic correlations significantly affect ionization potential depression.
- Theoretical results agree with experimental data for aluminum and CH plasmas.
- Large mass and charge asymmetry in ion mixtures enhances ionic effects.

## Abstract

The properties of a bound electron system immersed in a plasma environment are strongly modified by the surrounding plasma. The modification of a basic quantity, the ionization energy, is described by the electronic self-energy and by dynamical screening within the framework of the quantum statistical theory. Introducing the ionic dynamical structure factor as the indicator for the ionic micro-field, we demonstrate that ionic correlations and fluctuations play a critical role in determining the ionization potential depression. This is in particular true for mixtures of different ions with large mass and charge asymmetry. The ionization potential depression is calculated for dense aluminum plasmas as well as for a CH plasma and compared to the experimental data and more phenomenological approaches used so far.