title: Ab-initio simulations of the optical properties of warm dense gold.
abstract: Using a combination of classical and ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations, we calculate the structure and the electrical conductivity of warm dense gold during the first picoseconds after a short-pulse laser illumination. We find that the ions remain in their initial fcc structure for several picoseconds, despite electron temperatures ranging from a few to several eV after the laser illumination. The electrical conductivities calculated under these nonequilibrium conditions and using the latter assumption are in remarkable agreement with recent measurements using a short-pulse laser interacting with gold thin films.
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazevet
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clérouin
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Recoules
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Anglade
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zerah