Density effects on bremsstrahlung radiation in quantum plasmas

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effects of plasma number-density and quantum shielding of ions by degenerate electrons on the free-free and electron-atom bremsstrahlung radiation spectra in dense quantum plasmas for a wide range of plasma number-density and atomic-number of the constituent ions. We use previously reported results from the extended Shukla-Eliasson quantum-dressed ionic potential, which takes into account the relativistic degeneracy effect, the quantum statistical pressure, the electron-exchange correlations, the Wigner-Seitz cell interaction feature, as well as the important collective quantum diffraction of electrons. It is observed that the electron number-density has fundamental effect on the free-free and bound-bound bremsstrahlung radiation spectra over the whole frequency range of radiation. By comparing the radiation spectra for the quantum plasmas with ions of bare Coulomb, Thomas-Fermi, and extended quantum potentials, many important features of the bremsstrahlung radiation is highlighted. Current investigation can provide important information on plasma diagnostics for atomic processes in dense plasmas, such as the inertial-confinement fusion, warm dense matter, and the planetary cores. The results can also help in better understanding of the cooling processes in completely degenerate hot compact stellar objects such as white dwarfs. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.