High Z ions in hot, dense matter
Résumé
Current and proposed experiments on high-energy density matter include conditions for high Z ions in fully ionized plasmas. A semi-classical description is proposed whereby the classical Coulomb interactions are `regularized' at short distances to account for quantum diffraction effects. One motivation for this approach is to allow application of classical molecular dynamics (MID) simulation methods. Here, attention is focused on energy transfer between a heavy-impurity ion at low velocities and an electron gas. The relationship between the mobility, diffusion, and stopping power is noted and clarified. Some examples of MD simulation to explore the dependence on charge number of the impurity are given for an impurity in an electron gas.