title: First principles nonequilibrium plasma mixing.
abstract: We have performed nonequilibrium classical and quantum-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations that follow the interpenetration of deuterium-tritium (DT) and carbon (C) components through an interface initially in hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium. We concentrate on the warm, dense matter regime with initial densities of 2.5-5.5 g/cm3 and temperatures from 10 to 100 eV. The classical treatment employs a Yukawa pair-potential with the parameters adjusted to the plasma conditions, and the quantum treatment rests on an orbital-free density functional theory at the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac level. For times greater than about a picosecond, the component concentrations evolve in accordance with Fick's law for a classically diffusing fluid with the motion, though, described by the mutual diffusion coefficient of the mixed system rather than the self-diffusion of the individual components. For shorter times, microscopic processes control the clearly non-Fickian dynamics and require a detailed representation of the electron probability density in space and time.
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ticknor
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.affiliation: CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kress
mesh_terms: D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000737:chemistry*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008956:Models, Chemical; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D045424:Complex Mixtures; D058626:Plasma Gases