Electrical Conductivity in Dense Hydrogen Fluid and Metal Plasmas

Recent shock-wave experiments on fluid hydrogen have shown that a transition from nonconducting to metallic-like conductivity occurs at Mbar pressures. On the other hand, a transition from metallic to nonmetallic conductivities has been observed in aluminum and copper plasmas at about 0.1 solid state density using the rapid wire evaporation technique. The equation of state and composition of both shock-compressed hydrogen and expanded metals are calculated within a partially ionized plasma model. The conductivity is determined in linear response theory taking into account all relevant scattering processes of free electrons on T matrix level. Reasonable agreement with the experiments is found.