Hot-electron relaxation in dense `two-temperature' hydrogen

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent theoretical and simulation approaches to hot-electron relaxation in dense hydrogen, highlighting discrepancies and proposing improvements in coupled-mode calculations and response theories for better accuracy.

Contribution

It critically examines existing models and simulations of hot-electron relaxation, proposing that simplified models may overestimate effects and suggesting more accurate pseudopotentials and sum rule considerations.

Findings

Coupled-mode calculations may overestimate relaxation rates.

Molecular dynamics simulations show discrepancies with simplified models.

Using pseudopotentials could improve agreement with simulations.

Abstract

Recent theories of hot-electron relaxation in dense hydrogen or deuterium are examined in the light of recent molecular-dynamics simulations as well as various theoretical developments within the two-temperature model. The theoretical work since 1998 have led to the formulation of the $f$-sum version of the Fermi Golden rule formula as the most convenient method for the calculation of the rate of cooling of hot electrons where energy is transferred to cold ions. The attempt to include relaxation via the ion-acoustic modes of the two coupled subsystems, i.e., electrons and ions has led to a coupled-mode formulation which has now been established by a variety of formal methods. However, various simplified calculational models of the system with coupled-modes, as well as sophisticated molecular dynamics simulations seem to disagree. It is expected that coupled-mode calculations which use the simple Coulomb potential $V_{ei}(r)=-|e|Z/r$ for the electron-ion interaction within RPA will greatly over-estimate the coupled-mode contribution. A weak pseudopotential $U_{ei}(r)$ would probably bring the estimated coupled-mode contribution to agree with that obtained by simulations. It is suggested that the available `reduced models' have been constructed without much attention to the satisfaction of important sum rules, Kramers-Kr\"onig relations etc. We also deal with the question of how strongly coupled ion-ion systems can be addressed by an extension of the second-order linear response theory which is the basis of current formulations of energy relaxation in warm-dense matter systems. These are of interest in a variety of fields including hot-electron semi-conductor devices, inertial-fusion studies of hot compressed hydrogen, as well as in astrophysical applications.