U.S.-France Cooperative Research: The Simulation of Strongly Correlated Quantum Plasmas

这个为期三年的奖项支持伊利诺伊大学的D.M. Ceperley和法国巴黎皮埃尔和玛丽居里大学的Bernard Bermu在原子和分子物理学方面的合作研究，研究人员建议开发量子蒙特卡罗方法来研究相对高温下氢等离子体的特性。等离子体存在于自然界的不同条件下。有星际等离子体，也有行星和恒星内部的等离子体。在对等离子体进行分类之前，必须确定它们的电离状态。研究人员将计算在量子效应、热激发和电子相关同时重要的条件下氢等离子体的电离状态。该项目将受益于美国研究人员在量子蒙特卡罗技术和法国研究人员在高温等离子体和传输过程方面的互补专业知识。在这些国家使用高速计算机将对这一共同努力作出重大贡献。这些结果将引起密集等离子体物理学研究人员的普遍兴趣，并将促进我们对行星和恒星结构的理解。

This three-year award supports cooperative research in atomic and molecular physics between D.M. Ceperley of the University of Illinois and Bernard Bermu of the Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France, the investigators propose to develop quantum Monte Carlo methods for the properties of hydrogenic plasmas at relatively high temperatures. Plasmas are found in nature under different conditions. There are interstellar plasmas, and the plasmas in the interiors of planets and stars. Before classifying plasmas, their ionization state must be determined. The investigators will calculate the ionization state of hydrogenic plasmas under conditions were quantum effects, thermal excitations and electronic correlation are simultaneously important. This project will benefit form the complementary expertise of the U.S. investigator in quantum Monte Carlo techniques and the French investigator in high temperature plasmas and transport processes. Access to high speed computers in the countries will contribute significantly to this joint effort. The results will be of general interest to researchers in dense plasma physics and will advance our understanding of planetary and stellar structure.