Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation of the Low-Density Hydrogen Plasma

Abstract

Restricted path integral Monte Carlo simulations are used to calculate the equilibrium properties of hydrogen in the density and temperature range of $9.83 \times 10^{-4}\rm \leq \rho \leq 0.153 \rm gcm^{-3}$ and $5000 \leq T \leq 250 000 \rm K$. We test the accuracy of the pair density matrix and analyze the dependence on the system size, on the time step of the path integral and on the type of nodal surface. We calculate the equation of state and compare with other models for hydrogen valid in this regime. Further, we characterize the state of hydrogen and describe the changes from a plasma to an atomic and molecular liquid by analyzing the pair correlation functions and estimating the number of atoms and molecules present.Comment: 12 pages, 21 figures, submitted for Phys. Rev.