Strongly Correlated Plasmas and Astrophysics

Abstract

We shall first consider the physical conditions prevailing in various astrophysical objects, in order to show for which of these objects the physics of strongly correlated plasmas is relevant. To that effect, we plot in a plane log T, log N_A the regions corresponding to several astrophysical objects. Due to the fact that the relevant quantity

$$Gamma = \frac{{{z^2}{e^2}}}{{{a_s}{k_B}T}}$$

(1.1)

depends on the chemical composition, it is necessary to consider the (log N_A, log T) diagram for various chemical compositions. One more complication is due to the fact that at high densities quantum effects in the solid become important, so much that quantum fusion can take place inside a star. Finally, a quick look at the (log T, log N_A) diagram shows that beta-capture can take place for some elements, with the consequence that a transition in chemical composition can take place.