Modification of the uniform electron gas polarizational stopping power due to the interaction of the projectile with new collective modes at moderate and strong coupling

TL;DR

This study investigates how the polarizational stopping power of a homogeneous electron gas is affected by interactions with new collective modes at moderate and strong coupling, using a self-consistent moment method.

Contribution

It introduces a robust theoretical framework that incorporates sum rules and exact relationships to analyze electron-electron interactions and collective modes in stopping power calculations.

Findings

Significant deviations from classical stopping power predictions at strong coupling.

Interaction with collective modes alters energy-loss behavior.

Theoretical results align with recent experimental observations.

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed study of the polarizational stopping power of a homogeneous electron gas in moderate and strong coupling regimes using the self-consistent version of the method of moments as the key theoretical approach capable of expressing the dynamic characteristics of the system in terms of the static ones, which are the moments. We develop a robust framework that relies on nine sum rules and other exact relationships to analyze electron-electron interactions and their impact on energy-loss processes. We derive an expression for the stopping power that takes into account both quantum statistical effects and electron correlation phenomena. Our results demonstrate significant deviations from classical stopping power predictions, especially under the strong coupling conditions when electron dynamics is highly dependent on collective behavior and a projectile interacts with the system collective modes revealed in Phys. Rev. B 107, 195143 (2023). This work not only advances the theoretical understanding of the homogeneous electron gas but also has implications for practical applications in fields such as plasma physics and materials science.