arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P. R. Levashov.
When electrons in a solid are excited to a higher energy band they leave behind a vacancy (hole) in the original band which behaves like a positively charged particle. Here we predict that holes can spontaneously order into a regular lattice in semiconductors with sufficiently flat valence bands. The critical hole to electron effective mass ratio required for this phase transition is found to be of the order of 80.
The analysis of Coulomb crystallization is extended from one-component to two-component plasmas. Critical parameters for the existence of Coulomb crystals are derived for both classical and quantum crystals. In the latter case, a critical mass ratio of the two charged components is found which is of the order of 80. Thus, holes in semiconductors with sufficiently flat valence bands are predicted to spontaneously order into a regular lattice. Such hole crystals are intimately related to ion Coulomb crystals in white dwarf and neutron stars as well as to ion crystals produced in the laboratory. A unified phase diagram of two-component Coulomb crystals is presented and is verified by first-principle computer simulations.
We propose a theoretical Hugoniot obtained by combining results for the equation of state (EOS) from the Direct Path Integral Monte Carlo technique (DPIMC) and those from Reaction Ensemble Monte Carlo (REMC) simulations. The main idea of such proposal is based on the fact that DPMIC provides first-principle results for a wide range of densities and temperatures including the region of partially ionized plasmas. On the other hand, for lower temperatures where the formation of molecules becomes dominant, DPIMC simulations become cumbersome and inefficient. For this region it is possible to use accurate REMC simulations where bound states (molecules) are treated on the Born-Oppenheimer level using a binding potential calculated by Kolos and Wolniewicz. The remaining interaction is then reduced to the scattering between neutral particles which is reliably treated classically applying effective potentials. The resulting Hugoniot is located between the experimental values of Knudson {\textit{et al.}} \cite{1} and Collins {\textit{et al.}} \cite{2}.
Direct fermionic path-integral Monte-Carlo simulations of strongly coupled hydrogen are presented. Our results show evidence for the hypothetical plasma phase transition. Its most remarkable manifestation is the appearance of metallic droplets which are predicted to be crucial for the electrical conductivity allowing to explain the rapid increase observed in recent shock compression measurments.
An efficient numerical approach to equilibrium properties of strongly coupled systems which include a subsystem of fermionic quantum particles and a subsystem of classical particles is presented. It uses an improved path integral representation of the many-particle density operator and allows to describe situations of strong coupling and strong degeneracy, where analytical theories fail. A novel numerical method is developed, which allows to treat degenerate systems with full account of the spin scatistics. Numerical results for thermodynamic properties such as internal energy, pressure and pair correlation functions are presented over a wide range of degeneracy parameter.