Development of a new quantum trajectory molecular dynamics framework

Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2023 Aug 21;381(2253):20220325. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0325. Epub 2023 Jul 2.

Abstract

An extension to the wave packet description of quantum plasmas is presented, where the wave packet can be elongated in arbitrary directions. A generalized Ewald summation is constructed for the wave packet models accounting for long-range Coulomb interactions and fermionic effects are approximated by purpose-built Pauli potentials, self-consistent with the wave packets used. We demonstrate its numerical implementation with good parallel support and close to linear scaling in particle number, used for comparisons with the more common wave packet employing isotropic states. Ground state and thermal properties are compared between the models with differences occurring primarily in the electronic subsystem. Especially, the electrical conductivity of dense hydrogen is investigated where a 15% increase in DC conductivity can be seen in our wave packet model compared with other models. This article is part of the theme issue 'Dynamic and transient processes in warm dense matter'.

Keywords: non-adiabatic electron dynamics; warm dense matter; wave packet molecular dynamics.