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Low‐temperature Extensions of the Virial Equation of State for Solar Modeling
Author(s) -
Liang Y.C.,
Mussack K.,
Däppen W.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
contributions to plasma physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.531
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1521-3986
pISSN - 0863-1042
DOI - 10.1002/ctpp.201100100
Subject(s) - virial theorem , virial coefficient , equation of state , physics , virial expansion , quantum , rotation formalisms in three dimensions , representation (politics) , plasma , extension (predicate logic) , ionization , statistical physics , quantum mechanics , mathematics , ion , law , computer science , geometry , galaxy , politics , political science , programming language
Low‐order density expansions cannot adequately describe recombination reactions. Therefore, the usefulness of an exact quantum virial expansion truncated at the order of ϱ 5/2 is limited to the deeper interior of the Sun, where the plasma is nearly fully ionized. Here, intermediate steps towards full‐fledged solar modeling are presented. They are (i) a smooth numerical representation of the quantum virial expansion and (ii) the construction of a smooth transition to the low‐temperature regime (below 50,000 K), where the virial expansions breaks down due to H recombination. These technical steps are realized for a simplified H‐only plasma; the extension to He and heavier elements will be dealt with later. Ultimately, the outcome will be that solar observations can be used to test the accuracy of the virial equation of state and to compare it with current more phenomenological formalisms (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)