Density fluctuations and temperature relaxation in multicomponent plasmas

A general formalism for the treatment of density fluctuations in Coulomb plasmas is presented and applied to the treatment of temperature relaxation in multi-component quantum plasmas when the separate components (electrons and ions) relax to LTE much faster than the mutual equilibration rate. The underlying theory is based upon the Random Phase Approximation with static local field corrections (LFCs) to account for short-range correlations between the particles. A general formula for the electron-ion equilibration rate, similar to the one given by Daligault and Dimonte, is derived. However a different approach is advocated for the determination of the LFCs , one that allows a detailed quantal treatment of the electrons and with allowance for the possible presence of bound states. The theory presented here accommodates any number of plasma components and provides a basis for an approximate self-consistent solution of the general Coulomb many-body problem that incorporates static short-range correlations into the RPA. This has implications for improved modelling of the static and low frequency transport and equation-of-state properties of dense plasma. Limitations of the model are also discussed.