Optical conductivity of a hydrogen plasma: weak localization effects

To what extent can collective electron-ion interaction effects influence the electric conductivity of a Coulomb system? This paper is aimed to answer this question for the case of the solid density hydrogen plasma. The thermodynamic Greenʹs function approach is combined with the generalized hydrodynamic theory to develop a self-consistent approximation for the dynamic (frequency dependent) electron-ion collision frequency. On this basis the electric conductivity, skin depth and reflectivity of a dense hydrogen plasma are evaluated at frequencies below the plasma frequency. The results indicate that the percolation metal-insulator transition becomes possible at low plasma densities.