Mean Force Emission Theory for Classical Bremsstrahlung in Electron-Ion Plasmas

TL;DR

This paper extends mean force emission theory to electron-ion plasmas, incorporating quantum effects via the Kelbg potential, and compares results with simulations, revealing quantum modifications and limitations in high-frequency emission modeling.

Contribution

It introduces the Kelbg potential into mean force emission theory for plasmas, accounting for quantum effects and attractive interactions, and compares these with classical and quantum Gaunt factors.

Findings

Kelbg potential captures quantum modifications to classical Gaunt factors.

Attractive electron-ion interactions produce peaks in emission spectra.

Kelbg potential limits accuracy at very high frequencies.

Abstract

This work extends the previously developed mean force emission theory to describe electron-ion plasmas. Results are compared to molecular dynamics simulations. The main extensions are to account for the attractive nature of electron-ion interactions and to model short-range quantum effects using the Kelbg potential. By reducing the electron-ion force inside the deBroglie wavelength, the Kelbg potential causes a decay at high frequencies and a decrease in magnitude of the low frequency bremsstrahlung spectrum. The attractive electron-ion interaction also allows for classically bound states that show up as peaks in the emission spectrum. Results show that the Kelbg potential can capture quantum modifications to classical Gaunt factors, but is limited in describing emission at very high frequencies. This work further supports the notion that there is a peak in emission near the plasma frequency at strong coupling that cannot be captured using the common Drude correction. Importantly, the linear response framework used to calculate the bremsstrahlung emission coefficient is related to both the absorption coefficient and the real part of the dynamic electrical conductivity. This means that the conclusions drawn from this study can be applied to these transport coefficients as well. Finally, this work compares the results with commonly used classical and quantum mechanical Gaunt factors, and discusses the impact of a Fermi-Dirac distribution of electrons on emission and why screening slightly reduces the bremsstrahlung power in weakly coupled and non-degenerate plasmas.